BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading 0.4% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $22.98 and last traded at $22.94. Approximately 603,407 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 2,559,903 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Edward Jones lowered 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 research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reduced 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 note on Monday, November 11th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Up 0.3 %

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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.89 billion, a PE ratio of 327.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in BCE by 4.8% in the third 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 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. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 130.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 165,881 shares in the last quarter. 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. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in BCE during the third quarter worth $3,094,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently 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.