BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Up 1% – What’s Next?

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) were up 1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $23.62 and last traded at $23.49. Approximately 754,242 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 1,741,261 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BCE. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.51 billion, a PE ratio of 336.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.50%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position 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 valued at $656,421,000 after acquiring an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in BCE by 48.7% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake 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 valued at $10,200,000 after buying an additional 165,881 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in BCE by 78.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,192,000 after acquiring an additional 52,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in BCE by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,282,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.