BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading Up 3.9% - Time to Buy?

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE were up 3.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $22.56 and last traded at $22.66. Approximately 3,280,965 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 21% from the average daily volume of 2,706,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "underweight" rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.00.

BCE Stock Down 6.0 %

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market cap of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 172.95, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56.

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BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. Research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.42%. BCE's payout ratio is presently 2,291.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in BCE by 623.9% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,398,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $217,573,000 after buying an additional 8,100,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at $87,643,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of BCE by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 19,945,799 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $462,262,000 after acquiring an additional 3,624,953 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 10,569,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $244,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 26,292,783 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $609,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322,474 shares during the period. 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.