BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading 0.8% Higher – Time to Buy?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s stock price was up 0.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $23.62 and last traded at $23.36. Approximately 451,717 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 2,579,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on BCE. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.86 and a 200 day moving average of $31.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 332.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% during the third 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. AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of BCE by 5,036.0% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,842,000 after buying an additional 1,328,042 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 48.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,877,000 after buying an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in BCE by 12.0% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,553,000 after buying an additional 905,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in BCE by 4.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Company Profile

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.