BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Up 0.3% – What’s Next?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) shares shot up 0.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $22.98 and last traded at $22.90. 1,710,307 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 2,564,915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BCE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut their price target on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.12 and its 200 day moving average is $31.85. The firm has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 327.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. 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 12.87%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798,427 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 5,036.0% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,042 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 48.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of BCE by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in BCE by 12.0% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About BCE

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.