Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Trading Up 5.7% – Should You Buy?

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) shares rose 5.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $11.63 and last traded at $11.59. Approximately 156,587 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,226,983 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CCOI. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cogent Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $604.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 0.80.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.20. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 842.48% and a negative net margin of 17.53%.The company had revenue of $239.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.31 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.09) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.01, for a total transaction of $40,824.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 38,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $656,586. This trade represents a 5.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total transaction of $81,431.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 197,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,322,741. This trade represents a 2.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 2,850 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,466 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the third quarter worth $27,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cogent Communications by 208.6% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cogent Communications

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.