BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading Down 1.5% - Should You Sell?

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE were down 1.5% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $22.18 and last traded at $22.31. Approximately 780,388 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,563,413 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on BCE. National Bank Financial lowered BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report 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. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $20.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 321.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The business's fifty day moving average price is $27.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.53.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.08%. BCE's payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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