BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Up 0.4% – What’s Next?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s share price was up 0.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.59 and last traded at $22.60. Approximately 523,726 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 3,610,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

BCE Price Performance

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’s fifty day moving average price is $23.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.62. The company has a market capitalization of $20.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 190.87, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.15%. BCE’s payout ratio is 2,350.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in BCE by 4.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after acquiring an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in BCE by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,028,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,734,000 after purchasing an additional 168,704 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in BCE by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,282,000 after purchasing an additional 738,656 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in BCE by 48.7% in the third 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 buying an additional 1,166,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,945,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,085,000 after buying an additional 584,290 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.