BCE (NYSE:BCE) Reaches New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $34.00 to $30.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. BCE traded as low as $27.29 and last traded at $27.34, with a volume of 563687 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.85.

BCE has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on 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 downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 66.4% during the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,360,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,320,000 after buying an additional 543,320 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798,427 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 116.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 56,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 30,125 shares during the period. Finally, &PARTNERS purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter worth $298,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Trading Down 1.8 %

The company has a market cap of $24.94 billion, a PE ratio of 397.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

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 given 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 10.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4,228.57%.

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.