BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Short Interest Update

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.65 on Tuesday, reaching $23.18. The company had a trading volume of 3,820,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,579,633. The business's 50-day moving average is $27.06 and its 200 day moving average is $31.46. BCE has a one year low of $22.18 and a one year high of $41.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.15 billion, a PE ratio of 331.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.72%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 4.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in BCE by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in BCE by 130.1% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,200,000 after purchasing an additional 165,881 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 78.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 52,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the third quarter worth about $3,094,000. 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.