Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI – Get Rating) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 9.80% and a net margin of 7.44%. The company had revenue of $148.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.05) EPS. Cogent Communications’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Cogent Communications Trading Down 5.1 %

CCOI stock traded down $3.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 340,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,919. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 63.41 and a beta of 0.30. Cogent Communications has a 12 month low of $55.16 and a 12 month high of $80.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.80 and its 200-day moving average is $62.28.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 18th will be given a $0.905 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 17th. This is a boost from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.14%. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 378.50%.

Insider Activity at Cogent Communications

In other news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total transaction of $142,080.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,989,120. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total transaction of $142,080.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,989,120. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.72, for a total value of $57,684.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,887 shares in the company, valued at $782,498.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,120 shares of company stock valued at $608,398. 11.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avalon Investment & Advisory increased its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Avalon Investment & Advisory now owns 64,113 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,254,000 after purchasing an additional 7,116 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 51,289 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,402,000 after purchasing an additional 3,265 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 39,393 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 254.6% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 35,640 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 25,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 50.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 27,448 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 9,180 shares in the last quarter. 86.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CCOI shares. StockNews.com upgraded Cogent Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price target on Cogent Communications from $73.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, May 2nd. Finally, TheStreet cut Cogent Communications from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Friday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.80.

About Cogent Communications

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Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides high-speed Internet access, private network, and data center colocation space services in North America, Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, 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.