Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Short Interest Update

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,390,000 shares, a decrease of 11.8% from the August 15th total of 4,980,000 shares. Approximately 9.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 500,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.8 days.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CCOI traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $70.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 300,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 452,730. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.40. Cogent Communications has a 1-year low of $50.80 and a 1-year high of $86.00.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The technology company reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.27) by $0.59. The business had revenue of $260.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.32 million. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 32.14% and a net margin of 4.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications will post -4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.985 per share. This is a boost from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $3.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on Cogent Communications from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America lowered shares of Cogent Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Cogent Communications from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cogent Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.86.

Insider Transactions at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, VP John B. Chang sold 1,400 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.67, for a total value of $100,338.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 71,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,130,138.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Dave Schaeffer sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.82, for a total transaction of $4,369,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,373,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,444,627.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John B. Chang sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.67, for a total transaction of $100,338.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 71,580 shares in the company, valued at $5,130,138.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,870 shares of company stock valued at $4,716,057 in the last three months. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CCOI. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Cogent Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 127.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 787 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Cogent Communications by 17.2% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,880 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Cogent Communications during the first quarter worth about $136,000. Finally, Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $211,000. 92.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cogent Communications

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.