BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Short Interest Up 16.6% in November

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 52,480,000 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the October 31st total of 45,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 19.2 days. Approximately 5.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in BCE by 3,480.0% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 121.2% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its position in shares of BCE by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in BCE by 321.0% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.33. The stock had a trading volume of 5,247,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,131,405. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $26.45 and a fifty-two week high of $41.77. 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 company has a market cap of $24.93 billion, a PE ratio of 390.36, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.80.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 10.79%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4,228.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

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.