BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE shares rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $23.89 and last traded at $23.66. Approximately 498,470 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 3,556,999 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.63.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given 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 an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.50.
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BCE Stock Performance
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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a PE ratio of 198.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57.
BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.
BCE Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.68%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,350.00%.
Institutional Trading of BCE
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BCE. National Bank of Canada FI grew 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 worth $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $127,282,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of BCE by 48.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $123,877,000 after buying an additional 1,166,800 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of BCE by 130.1% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,200,000 after buying an additional 165,881 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in BCE by 78.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,192,000 after acquiring an additional 52,966 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.
About BCE
(
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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.
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