Short Interest in Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) Declines By 50.2%

Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI - Get Free Report) TSE: RCI.B saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,750,000 shares, a drop of 50.2% from the December 15th total of 11,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Rogers Communications Price Performance

Shares of RCI traded down $1.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.96. 438,112 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 924,985. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.68. Rogers Communications has a 1-year low of $27.63 and a 1-year high of $48.19. The stock has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.47 and a 200-day moving average of $36.94.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI - Get Free Report) 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 business 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%. The business's revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Rogers Communications will post 3.56 EPS 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 5.17%. Rogers Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rogers Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rogers Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 6,099 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,521,446 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $56,071,000 after acquiring an additional 21,060 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Rogers Communications during the second quarter worth about $867,000. 45.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Rogers Communications from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of 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 report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of 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, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.75.

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.