BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Gap Up to $34.51

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $34.51, but opened at $35.27. BCE shares last traded at $36.01, with a volume of 613,888 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.67.

BCE Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $32.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.58.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.729 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 204.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in BCE by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in BCE by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in BCE by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in BCE by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in BCE by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 11,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.