UBS Group AG Decreases Stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI

UBS Group AG reduced its stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) by 34.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 248,555 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 128,027 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Cogent Communications were worth $5,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CCOI. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Cogent Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cogent Communications by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Cogent Communications by 466.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,262 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,863 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Cogent Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Cogent Communications by 536.5% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,215 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the period. 92.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 2,206 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total transaction of $50,804.18. Following the sale, the director owned 20,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,940.47. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total transaction of $56,040.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at $957,350. The trade was a 5.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.00 price target (down from $23.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CCOI opened at $18.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $919.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.17 and a beta of 0.85. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.82 and a 12 month high of $54.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.59.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.20. The business had revenue of $239.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.31 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 17.53% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.09) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.25%.

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.