BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) traded down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $22.74 and last traded at $22.81. 909,388 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 2,557,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays cut their price target on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 323.71, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.64.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 121.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in BCE in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 321.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the 3rd quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

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.