BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Down 2.5% – Here’s Why

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s share price was down 2.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $22.91 and last traded at $23.04. Approximately 926,649 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 2,931,439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BCE. Barclays lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Edward Jones cut 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 assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 327.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI lifted 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 acquiring an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in BCE by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in BCE by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,932,000 after purchasing an additional 21,487 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position 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 buying an additional 1,166,800 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.