Insider Selling: Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) VP Sells 2,400 Shares of Stock

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $115,080.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 38,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,850,870. This represents a 5.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Cogent Communications Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of CCOI traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $48.96. 772,171 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 501,943. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $51.42 and its 200-day moving average is $66.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.65 and a 1 year high of $86.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.77 and a beta of 0.72.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $247.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.81 million. Cogent Communications had a net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 36.31%. The business’s revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.38) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were issued a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.25%. This is a boost from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -100.75%.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Cogent Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in Cogent Communications by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 618 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Cogent Communications by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 623 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $102.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cogent Communications to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Cogent Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.75.

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.