Herald Investment Management Ltd Boosts Position in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI

Herald Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,600 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the quarter. Cogent Communications makes up about 1.5% of Herald Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Herald Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Cogent Communications were worth $10,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CCOI. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 43,890 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,273 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 1,878 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 297.8% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications during the second quarter worth $242,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications during the second quarter worth $41,000. 92.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cogent Communications Stock Up 3.2%

CCOI stock opened at $41.67 on Monday. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.61 and a 12 month high of $86.76. The company has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $38.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.06. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported ($1.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.93) 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 $246.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.68) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were issued a $1.015 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.7%. This is a boost from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently -89.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CCOI. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Cogent Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (down from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cogent Communications from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Cogent Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $67.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.60.

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.