Analysts Set Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Target Price at $46.60

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.60.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CCOI shares. Citigroup cut Cogent Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Cogent Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Cogent Communications from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, CEO Dave Schaeffer sold 1,840,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.60, for a total value of $60,005,809.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,516,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,423,295.20. This represents a 54.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total transaction of $72,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,117.95. The trade was a 16.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,663,978 shares of company stock valued at $82,687,283. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cogent Communications by 297.8% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. 92.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CCOI opened at $39.86 on Friday. Cogent Communications has a 12 month low of $29.61 and a 12 month high of $86.76. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.78 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.31.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported ($1.21) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.93) by ($0.28). Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 117.56% and a negative net margin of 21.57%.The firm had revenue of $246.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $247.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.68) EPS. Cogent Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were issued a $1.015 dividend. This is an increase from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 21st. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently -89.43%.

Cogent Communications declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, August 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.