BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading Up 0.2% – Should You Buy?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s stock price rose 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $24.01 and last traded at $23.92. Approximately 748,525 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 3,210,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 339.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,028.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its stake in BCE by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 562,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,037,000 after buying an additional 48,997 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in BCE by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 36,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 16,279 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in BCE by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth $92,000. 41.46% of the stock is 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.