BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading Up 0.8% - Time to Buy?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE's stock price traded up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $23.62 and last traded at $23.36. 451,717 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 2,579,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of several analyst reports. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Edward Jones cut 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $26.66 and its 200 day moving average is $31.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $21.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 332.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is a positive change from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,450,000 after buying an additional 1,798,427 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 5,036.0% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,042 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in 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 worth $123,877,000 after buying an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in BCE by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,553,000 after buying an additional 905,857 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.