Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Short Interest Down 6.1% in November

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,820,000 shares, a decrease of 6.1% from the October 31st total of 4,070,000 shares. Approximately 8.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 389,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.8 days.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

Cogent Communications stock traded down $1.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.67. 503,750 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 438,940. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.78 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Cogent Communications has a fifty-two week low of $50.80 and a fifty-two week high of $86.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.62.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported ($1.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.34) by $0.01. Cogent Communications had a net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 36.31%. The business had revenue of $257.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.13) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cogent Communications will post -4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.995 per share. This is a boost from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. This represents a $3.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 510.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Cogent Communications from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Cogent Communications from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Blake Bath sold 6,220 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.69, for a total value of $520,551.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $836,900. The trade was a 38.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 1,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total transaction of $108,783.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $831,424.44. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,016 shares of company stock worth $1,116,135 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. raised its position in Cogent Communications by 0.5% during the third quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 41,079 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 1.1% in the second quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,407 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 72.9% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 536 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,984 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Cogent Communications by 204.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 405 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides high-speed Internet access, private network, and data center colocation space services in North America, Europe, Oceania, South America, and Africa. The company offers on-net Internet access and private network services to law firms, financial services firms, and advertising and marketing firms, as well as heath care providers, educational institutions and other professional services businesses, other Internet service providers, telephone companies, cable television companies, web hosting companies, media service providers, mobile phone operators, content delivery network companies, and commercial content and application service providers.