BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading 0.1% Higher – What’s Next?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s stock price rose 0.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $24.17 and last traded at $23.85. Approximately 720,120 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 2,454,904 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BCE. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 342.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.27. 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 paid a $0.737 dividend. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.29%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in BCE by 25.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,282,000 after acquiring an additional 738,656 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of BCE by 130.1% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,200,000 after acquiring an additional 165,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 52,966 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

About BCE

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.