BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading Up 0.2% – Should You Buy?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s share price shot up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $24.01 and last traded at $23.92. 748,525 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 3,210,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BCE. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $21.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 339.79, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.737 dividend. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,028.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in 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 worth $656,421,000 after acquiring an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 738,656 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of BCE by 130.1% during the third 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 raised 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. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by 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.