BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading Up 0.2% – Time to Buy?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) shares traded up 0.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $24.01 and last traded at $23.92. 748,525 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 3,210,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $21.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 340.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.13.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4,028.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of BCE by 116.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 56,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,816,000 after buying an additional 30,125 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in BCE by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in BCE by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,768,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,622,000 after acquiring an additional 185,943 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,909,000. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 39.9% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 9,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 2,852 shares during the last quarter. 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.