BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 45,700,000 shares, a drop of 6.1% from the November 30th total of 48,690,000 shares. Currently, 5.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 13.2 days.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock traded up $0.65 on Tuesday, reaching $23.18. 770,100 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,566,522. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $21.15 billion, a PE ratio of 331.14, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $27.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.53. BCE has a 12 month low of $22.18 and a 12 month high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.737 dividend. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.72%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BCE. Barclays lowered their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 2.6% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 203,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,581,000 after buying an additional 5,158 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in BCE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $574,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 186.7% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 320,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,361,000 after purchasing an additional 208,425 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of BCE by 23.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 5.0% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 210,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,818,000 after purchasing an additional 9,954 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.