BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Up 1.5% – What’s Next?

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (TSE:BCE) shot up 1.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $23.24 and last traded at $23.16. 2,840,402 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 3,751,226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BCE. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on BCE

BCE Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $21.35 billion, a PE ratio of 334.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.57.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.60%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 4,028.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798,427 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of BCE by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of BCE by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth $17,271,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BCE

(Get Free Report)

BCE Inc, a communications company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Bell Communication and Technology Services, and Bell Media. The Bell Communication and Technology Services segment provides wireless products and services including mobile data and voice plans and devices; wireline products and services comprising data, including internet access, internet protocol television, cloud-based services, and business solutions, as well as voice, and other communication services and products; and satellite TV and connectivity services for residential, small and medium-sized business, government, and large enterprise customers.

See Also