BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Up 1.6% – Should You Buy?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) shares were up 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $23.61 and last traded at $23.64. Approximately 383,030 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 3,587,677 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on BCE shares. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

BCE Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 196.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.76 and its 200-day moving average is $29.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. On average, analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,350.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth $87,643,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of BCE by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 19,945,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $462,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,624,953 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in BCE by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 26,292,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $609,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322,474 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in BCE by 95.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,586,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $106,216,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240,473 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in BCE by 3,355.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,450,000 after buying an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is 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.