Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) Short Interest Up 27.6% in February

Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 9,560,000 shares, a growth of 27.6% from the February 13th total of 7,490,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.2 days.

Rogers Communications Price Performance

Shares of RCI stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Monday, hitting $28.21. The company had a trading volume of 547,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 868,011. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.74. Rogers Communications has a one year low of $26.57 and a one year high of $42.96.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.07. Rogers Communications had a return on equity of 25.19% and a net margin of 8.40%. Equities analysts expect that Rogers Communications will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rogers Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.347 per share. This represents a $1.39 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Rogers Communications’s payout ratio is presently 59.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCI has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Rogers Communications in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Bank of America downgraded Rogers Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Rogers Communications in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Rogers Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rogers Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Rogers Communications by 371.0% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,053,559 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $203,334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,980,525 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Rogers Communications by 123.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,727,400 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $206,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717,487 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Rogers Communications by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 33,450,577 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,028,336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,244,240 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Rogers Communications by 90.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,896,489 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $115,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Rogers Communications by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 7,736,202 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $237,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,200 shares during the last quarter. 45.49% of the stock is currently owned by 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.