Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Receives Equal Weight Rating from Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company restated their equal weight rating on shares of Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $27.00 price target on the technology company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $45.00.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on CCOI. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Cogent Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup lowered shares of Cogent Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 5.9%

CCOI traded down $1.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.49. 4,106,173 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 922,881. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.38. Cogent Communications has a twelve month low of $23.20 and a twelve month high of $85.37. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.17 and a beta of 0.77.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported ($0.87) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.28. The company had revenue of $241.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.13 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a negative return on equity of 117.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.33) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Cogent Communications’s payout ratio is -99.51%.

Cogent Communications announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, August 7th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.99, for a total transaction of $88,776.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 36,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,339,038. This trade represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total transaction of $72,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,117.95. The trade was a 16.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the first quarter worth $417,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Cogent Communications by 2.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 210,977 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,935,000 after buying an additional 4,781 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cogent Communications by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,972 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,497 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 115,223 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,064,000 after acquiring an additional 26,673 shares during the period. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.