Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Director Lewis Ferguson Sells 2,206 Shares

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Director Lewis Ferguson sold 2,206 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total value of $50,804.18. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,940.47. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CCOI traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.16. 382,885 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,185,777. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.08 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.96 and a 52-week high of $72.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.18.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The technology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.45. The business had revenue of $240.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.82 million. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 842.48% and a negative net margin of 18.67%.Cogent Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.91) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Cogent Communications’s payout ratio is currently -2.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on CCOI shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Cogent Communications from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research raised Cogent Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Williams Trading set a $40.00 price objective on Cogent Communications in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.78.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $416,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Cogent Communications by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,857 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 7,071 shares in the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $398,000. Finally, Man Group plc raised its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 2,685.1% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 326,168 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,032,000 after acquiring an additional 314,457 shares in the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cogent Communications

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) is a multinational Internet service provider specializing in high-speed Internet access and data transport services. The company operates one of the largest Tier 1 IP networks in the world, offering wholesale and enterprise customers reliable, low-latency connectivity. Cogent’s core services include dedicated Internet access, Ethernet transport, wavelength services, and MPLS-based IP Virtual Private Networks, all delivered over its privately owned, fiber-optic backbone.

In addition to network connectivity, Cogent provides data center colocation and managed services designed to support businesses with demanding bandwidth and redundancy requirements.