Short Interest in Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) Increases By 27.6%

Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) saw a significant growth in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily volume of 1,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.2 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Rogers Communications Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE RCI traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $28.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 951,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 869,587. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.65. The stock has a market cap of $15.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.67. Rogers Communications has a 52 week low of $26.57 and a 52 week high of $42.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

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

Rogers Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.347 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.39 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.85%. Rogers Communications’s payout ratio is 59.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Rogers Communications in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lowered shares of Rogers Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Rogers Communications in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Rogers Communications by 123.5% during the 4th 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 increased its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 33,450,577 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,028,336,000 after acquiring an additional 2,244,240 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $115,775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375,043 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 7,736,202 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $237,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.