BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading Down 4.2% - Here's What Happened

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE shares were down 4.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $22.45 and last traded at $22.54. Approximately 1,779,229 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 3,467,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on BCE shares. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.50.

BCE Stock Up 1.7 %

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 50-day simple moving average of $24.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a PE ratio of 187.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. Analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.37%. BCE's payout ratio is 2,350.00%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised 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 valued at $64,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798,427 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in BCE by 4.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $17,271,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 worth $127,282,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently 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.