Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) Short Interest Down 50.2% in December

Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,750,000 shares, a decline of 50.2% from the December 15th total of 11,550,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities upped their price objective on Rogers Communications from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Rogers Communications from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Rogers Communications in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.75.

Rogers Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

RCI stock opened at $29.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.69. Rogers Communications has a twelve month low of $28.89 and a twelve month high of $48.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35.

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

Rogers Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.3611 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Rogers Communications’s payout ratio is 68.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rogers Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RCI. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Rogers Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $55,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rogers Communications by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 68,679 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 6,099 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 1.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,521,446 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $56,071,000 after purchasing an additional 21,060 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Rogers Communications by 6.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 604,138 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $22,341,000 after purchasing an additional 33,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in Rogers Communications during the second quarter worth about $867,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.49% of the company’s stock.

About Rogers Communications

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.