Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $50.17 and last traded at $50.45, with a volume of 800486 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised Cogent Communications to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.25.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 5.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.95 and a beta of 0.69.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The technology company reported ($0.91) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $252.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.49 million. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 36.31% and a net margin of 3.73%. Equities analysts expect that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $1.005 per share. This is an increase from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -93.49%.

Insider Transactions at Cogent Communications

In related news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.36, for a total value of $66,308.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,652 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,702.72. The trade was a 4.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $353,094.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 103,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,422,180. The trade was a 4.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,681 shares of company stock valued at $840,878. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Cogent Communications by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 124,020 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 8,204.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 64,192 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,936,000 after buying an additional 63,419 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 43,368 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,636 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Cogent Communications by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 11,580 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Finally, Ulysses Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Ulysses Management LLC now owns 372,166 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,683,000 after acquiring an additional 32,596 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

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.