BCE (NYSE:BCE) Stock Price Up 1% – Time to Buy?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) shares were up 1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $23.62 and last traded at $23.49. Approximately 754,242 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 1,741,261 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Up 2.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 340.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.38%. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in BCE by 25.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in BCE by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 12,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 4,605 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its position in BCE by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 103,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after buying an additional 4,438 shares during the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its stake in BCE by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 8,633 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.