BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading 0.3% Higher – What’s Next?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s stock price was up 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $24.18 and last traded at $24.01. Approximately 668,994 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 2,750,248 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 343.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.737 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.26%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 worth $127,282,000 after acquiring an additional 738,656 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 12,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605 shares in the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 4.5% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 103,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 4,438 shares during the period. Old North State Trust LLC raised its position in shares of BCE by 25.2% in the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 138.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 8,633 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

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.