Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Sets New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $18.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Cogent Communications traded as low as $14.82 and last traded at $16.37, with a volume of 7552896 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.16.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on CCOI. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (down from $23.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Cogent Communications from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Cogent Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cogent Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total value of $75,867.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,199. The trade was a 24.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $109,755.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 202,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,588,232.50. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock valued at $292,467 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Cogent Communications in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 313.9% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 8.1%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.62. The firm has a market cap of $830.53 million, a P/E ratio of -4.67 and a beta of 0.85.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $239.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.09) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2.25%.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

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.