BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading 2.9% Higher – Still a Buy?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s stock price shot up 2.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $23.28 and last traded at $23.18. 3,820,877 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 48% from the average session volume of 2,579,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.3 %

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 50-day moving average of $26.66 and a 200-day moving average of $31.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 332.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.67%. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798,427 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 5,036.0% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,042 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings 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 valued at $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in BCE by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised 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 valued at $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. 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.