Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Stock Price Up 6.7% – Here’s Why

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)’s share price shot up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $20.32 and last traded at $20.6320. 226,461 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 1,151,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CCOI shares. Williams Trading set a $40.00 price target on Cogent Communications in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Cogent Communications from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Cogent Communications from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $944.13 million, a P/E ratio of -5.08 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.92 and its 200-day moving average is $28.05.

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

Cogent Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 2,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total transaction of $50,804.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,940.47. This represents a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director owned 10,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,199. This trade 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 worth $292,467 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CCOI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 5.3% in the third 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 during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cogent Communications by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 177,113 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,792,000 after purchasing an additional 40,970 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cogent Communications by 1.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,060,367 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,127,000 after buying an additional 20,055 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cogent Communications by 44.6% in the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 206,800 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,970,000 after purchasing an additional 63,750 shares during the period. Finally, Arvin Capital Management LP bought a new position in Cogent Communications in the third quarter worth $2,301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

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.