QV Investors Inc. Invests $12.65 Million in Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI)

QV Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 411,693 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,650,000. Rogers Communications comprises about 1.3% of QV Investors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. QV Investors Inc. owned 0.08% of Rogers Communications at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 371.0% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,053,559 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $203,334,000 after buying an additional 3,980,525 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Rogers Communications by 53.9% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,303,371 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $233,099,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206,690 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 90.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,896,489 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $115,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375,043 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 86.6% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,610,833 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $104,965,000 after buying an additional 1,211,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Rogers Communications by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,239,553 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $250,886,000 after buying an additional 977,924 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RCI shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Rogers Communications in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. TD Securities raised their target price on Rogers Communications from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Rogers Communications from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.75.

Rogers Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCI traded up $0.36 during trading on Monday, hitting $29.36. 349,167 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 912,405. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.69. Rogers Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.89 and a 1-year high of $48.19.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $5.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. Rogers Communications had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 7.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Rogers Communications Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rogers Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $0.3611 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. Rogers Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.78%.

About Rogers Communications

Rogers Communications Inc operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device financing, device protection, global voice and data roaming, wireless home phone, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device shipping and express pickup services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands.