Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Position in Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,736,202 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,320,200 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 1.45% of Rogers Communications worth $237,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of Rogers Communications by 7.2% during 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 buying an additional 2,244,240 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Rogers Communications by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 209,113 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $6,413,000 after acquiring an additional 26,319 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 8,734 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Rogers Communications by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,914,155 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $89,552,000 after purchasing an additional 17,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Rogers Communications by 274.2% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 5,306 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888 shares during the last quarter. 45.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rogers Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Rogers Communications stock opened at $24.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.21. Rogers Communications Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $41.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 25.19%. Research analysts expect that Rogers Communications Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rogers Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.347 dividend. This represents a $1.39 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Rogers Communications’s payout ratio is 59.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RCI. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Rogers Communications in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Scotiabank lowered shares of Rogers Communications from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Rogers Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Rogers Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Rogers Communications in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.