Barclays Lowers BCE (NYSE:BCE) Price Target to $30.00

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $34.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

BCE has been the subject of several other reports. Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $26.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. BCE has a 12 month low of $26.78 and a 12 month high of $41.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.13 and its 200-day moving average is $33.46. The company has a market cap of $24.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 383.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.59.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.99%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of BCE by 3,480.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 121.2% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.