BCE (NYSE:BCE) Stock Price Down 1.1% – What’s Next?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) shares were down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $23.29 and last traded at $23.31. Approximately 689,566 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 2,509,885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. National Bank Financial lowered shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

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 $21.10 billion, a PE ratio of 330.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.25.

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 issued a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.75%. This is a positive change 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in BCE by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 23.8% in 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. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,932,000 after acquiring an additional 21,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 5.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,379,000 after purchasing an additional 186,659 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by 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.