Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Cogent Communications from $37.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Cogent Communications from $65.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $23.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cogent Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.71.

Cogent Communications Trading Up 5.2%

Cogent Communications stock traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.55. 2,807,563 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 970,072. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.46. Cogent Communications has a 52-week low of $15.96 and a 52-week high of $85.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $862.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.87 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Cogent Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1.96%.

Cogent Communications announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 7th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 297.8% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cogent Communications

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.