Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Trading 4.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) traded up 4.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $20.03 and last traded at $20.1070. 315,069 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,153,534 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Cogent Communications from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. KeyCorp reduced their target price 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 reduced their target price on Cogent Communications from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.67.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.29 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.31.

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

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Cogent Communications’s payout ratio is currently -2.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cogent Communications news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total value of $56,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 41,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $957,350. The trade was a 5.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total value of $75,867.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,756 shares of company stock valued at $292,467 over the last 90 days. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cogent Communications by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,362,821 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $205,664,000 after acquiring an additional 270,975 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 177,113 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,792,000 after buying an additional 40,970 shares in the last quarter. Arvin Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $2,301,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 123.4% during the 3rd quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 312,626 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,989,000 after buying an additional 172,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tyro Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tyro Capital Management LLC now owns 935,287 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,868,000 after buying an additional 298,392 shares in the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cogent Communications

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.