Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Shares Down 9% – Should You Sell?

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) shares dropped 9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $17.99 and last traded at $18.0240. Approximately 417,231 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 980,636 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CCOI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cogent Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $23.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.71.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 11.8%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $37.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $858.73 million, a P/E ratio of -3.86 and a beta of 0.77.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported ($0.87) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.28. The company had revenue of $241.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $246.13 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a negative return on equity of 117.56%. Cogent Communications’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.33) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1.96%.

Cogent Communications announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cogent Communications

In related news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.99, for a total value of $88,776.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 36,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,339,038. This trade represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.34, for a total value of $51,216.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,656.08. This trade represents a 19.34% 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 sold 6,800 shares of company stock valued at $212,692. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the first quarter valued at $557,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 46,947 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,881 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Cogent Communications by 43.9% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 63,555 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,064,000 after purchasing an additional 19,394 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Cogent Communications by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,078 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redmond Asset Management LLC raised its position in Cogent Communications by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 141,383 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,816,000 after purchasing an additional 11,727 shares during the period. 92.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.