BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Up 2.6% – Still a Buy?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) shot up 2.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $23.20 and last traded at $23.11. 954,398 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 2,567,976 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on BCE shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.86 and its 200-day moving average is $31.40. The company has a market cap of $21.15 billion, a PE ratio of 331.14, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s payout ratio is 4,214.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 121.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 321.0% in 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 bought a new position in shares of BCE during the third quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the second quarter valued at $76,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

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.