Cogeco Communications (TSE:CCA) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSE:CCA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$73.19 and last traded at C$73.10, with a volume of 8225 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$72.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. National Bank Financial upgraded Cogeco Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Cogeco Communications from C$73.50 to C$77.50 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Cogeco Communications from C$85.00 to C$89.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Cogeco Communications from C$76.00 to C$79.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Cogeco Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from C$65.00 to C$77.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$75.50.

Cogeco Communications Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of C$2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 142.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$69.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$62.56.

Cogeco Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 28th were issued a $0.922 dividend. This is a positive change from Cogeco Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Cogeco Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cogeco Communications news, Director Robin Anne Bienenstock purchased 2,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$69.66 per share, for a total transaction of C$150,189.33. Also, Director Jacques Royer sold 657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$68.86, for a total transaction of C$45,241.02. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$68.86. This represents a 99.85 % decrease in their position. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

About Cogeco Communications

Cogeco Communications Inc operates as a telecommunications corporation in Canada and the United States. It operates in two segments, Canadian Telecommunications and American Telecommunications. The company offers Internet, video, and Internet protocol (IP) based telephony services to residential and small business customers through its two-way broadband fiber networks.