Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) VP Sells $183,334.80 in Stock

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) VP John B. Chang sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $183,334.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 69,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,572,413. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CCOI opened at $77.81 on Friday. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.80 and a 1 year high of $86.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $78.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.76 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported ($1.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.34) by $0.01. Cogent Communications had a net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 36.31%. The firm had revenue of $257.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.13) earnings per share. Cogent Communications’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.995 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.12%. This is a positive change from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 505.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CCOI. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Cogent Communications by 2,739.1% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,035,261 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $58,430,000 after purchasing an additional 998,796 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 500.1% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,051,568 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,699,000 after buying an additional 876,326 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 327.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 981,623 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,129,000 after buying an additional 752,133 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new position in Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $27,942,000. Finally, Senator Investment Group LP lifted its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 83.0% in the 1st quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 666,768 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,560,000 after acquiring an additional 302,365 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

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.