Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) Trading Down 3.5% – Time to Sell?

Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B)’s share price fell 3.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $28.29 and last traded at $28.35. 182,079 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 899,890 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCI has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Rogers Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Rogers Communications from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. TD Securities raised their price objective on Rogers Communications from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Rogers Communications in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

Rogers Communications Stock Down 4.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $15.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.47 and a 200 day moving average of $36.94.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $5.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. Rogers Communications had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 7.34%. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rogers Communications Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Rogers Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $0.3611 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Rogers Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rogers Communications

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Rogers Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,019,000. QV Investors Inc. bought a new position in Rogers Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,650,000. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd raised its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd now owns 101,365 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $3,090,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 0.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,728,836 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $69,516,000 after buying an additional 15,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Rogers Communications by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,900 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 2,232 shares during the last quarter. 45.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rogers Communications Company Profile

Rogers Communications Inc operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device financing, device protection, global voice and data roaming, wireless home phone, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device shipping and express pickup services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands.