Rogers Communication Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:RCI)

Rogers Communication, Inc. (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 4,476 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 906% compared to the typical volume of 445 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. TD Securities cut Rogers Communication from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Desjardins reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rogers Communication currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.00.

Rogers Communication Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of RCI traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $32.90. 1,460,102 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,110,261. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 3.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Rogers Communication has a 1-year low of $31.38 and a 1-year high of $41.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.11 and a 200-day moving average of $36.83.

Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Rogers Communication had a net margin of 32.00% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Rogers Communication’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Rogers Communication will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Rogers Communication Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. Rogers Communication’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rogers Communication

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Rogers Communication during the 1st quarter worth $483,000. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Rogers Communication by 1.0% in the first quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd now owns 107,208 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $4,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rogers Communication by 0.6% in the first quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. now owns 371,138 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $14,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rogers Communication by 15.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Rogers Communication by 13.5% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 120,886 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $4,648,000 after purchasing an additional 14,370 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.49% of the company’s stock.

About Rogers Communication

Rogers Communications Inc is a Canadian integrated communications and media company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company provides a broad range of telecommunications services to residential and business customers across Canada, including wireless voice and data services, cable television, high-speed internet, and home phone services. In the enterprise market it offers managed IT, data center and cloud solutions, networking and connectivity services targeted to small businesses, large enterprises and public sector clients.

In addition to connectivity services, Rogers operates a significant media portfolio that includes national and regional television and radio assets, sports broadcasting properties and other content businesses.