ProShare Advisors LLC Raises Position in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 136,143 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,703 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cogent Communications were worth $6,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 297.8% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new stake in Cogent Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CCOI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Cogent Communications from $37.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research downgraded Cogent Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Friday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $25.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.99, for a total transaction of $88,776.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 36,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,339,038. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.34, for a total value of $51,216.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,656.08. This represents a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 6,800 shares of company stock worth $212,692. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Cogent Communications Trading Down 9.8%

Cogent Communications stock opened at $16.68 on Friday. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.37 and a 52 week high of $85.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06. The company has a market capitalization of $819.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.67 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Cogent Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is -1.96%.

Cogent Communications announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, August 7th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.