Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Trading Down 6.7% – Here’s Why

Shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) dropped 6.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $18.62 and last traded at $18.6810. Approximately 275,435 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 1,136,462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CCOI. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Williams Trading set a $40.00 target price on Cogent Communications in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.67.

Cogent Communications Trading Down 7.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.99. The stock has a market cap of $928.31 million, a PE ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 0.84.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The technology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.45. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 18.67% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. The company had revenue of $240.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.91) earnings per share. Cogent Communications’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Cogent Communications’s payout ratio is presently -2.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cogent Communications news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $109,755.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 202,750 shares in the company, valued at $4,588,232.50. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $75,867.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $232,199. This represents a 24.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Cogent Communications by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,534 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 44,259 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,697,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 5.7% during the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 6,835 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 2,850 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,466 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) is a multinational Internet service provider specializing in high-speed Internet access and data transport services. The company operates one of the largest Tier 1 IP networks in the world, offering wholesale and enterprise customers reliable, low-latency connectivity. Cogent’s core services include dedicated Internet access, Ethernet transport, wavelength services, and MPLS-based IP Virtual Private Networks, all delivered over its privately owned, fiber-optic backbone.

In addition to network connectivity, Cogent provides data center colocation and managed services designed to support businesses with demanding bandwidth and redundancy requirements.