Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI)

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) in a research report report published on Monday. The firm issued an underweight rating on the Wireless communications provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Rogers Communications from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Rogers Communications Trading Down 2.9 %

RCI opened at $30.76 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The firm has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.67. Rogers Communications has a 52 week low of $30.73 and a 52 week high of $48.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.94.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $5.13 billion during 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%. Rogers Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Rogers Communications will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Rogers Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.3611 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.70%. Rogers Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 371.0% during the 3rd 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. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Rogers Communications by 53.9% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,303,371 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $233,099,000 after buying an additional 2,206,690 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Rogers Communications by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,896,489 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $115,775,000 after buying an additional 1,375,043 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 86.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,610,833 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $104,965,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Rogers Communications by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,239,553 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $250,886,000 after acquiring an additional 977,924 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.49% of the company’s stock.

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.