Rogers Communications’ (RCI) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Barclays

Barclays reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on RCI. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Rogers Communications in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Bank of America lowered shares of Rogers Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rogers Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.75.

Rogers Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE RCI opened at $28.28 on Tuesday. Rogers Communications has a 12 month low of $27.63 and a 12 month high of $48.19. The company has a market capitalization of $15.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $5.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. Rogers Communications had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 7.34%. The firm’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. Equities research analysts expect that Rogers Communications will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rogers Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.3611 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.11%. Rogers Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rogers Communications

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position 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 valued at $203,334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,980,525 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 106.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 133,760 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $5,383,000 after buying an additional 68,971 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rogers Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $726,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 1,046.8% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 599,476 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $24,101,000 after acquiring an additional 547,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Rogers Communications by 53.9% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,303,371 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $233,099,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206,690 shares in the last quarter. 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.