BCE (NYSE:BCE) Stock Price Up 1.6% - Here's Why

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE's share price was up 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $23.61 and last traded at $23.64. Approximately 383,030 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 3,587,677 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BCE shares. Bank of America cut BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.50.

BCE Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.57 and a 200 day moving average of $29.26. 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 market cap of $21.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 194.63, a PEG 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 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.93%. BCE's payout ratio is 2,350.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in BCE by 217.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in BCE by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

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.