BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading 3.9% Higher – What’s Next?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) shares shot up 3.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $22.56 and last traded at $22.66. 3,280,965 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 21% from the average session volume of 2,706,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

BCE Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.52 and a 200-day moving average of $26.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 189.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. 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 earnings results 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 net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.25%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,291.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $262,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in BCE by 6.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in BCE by 14.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 3,352 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the third quarter valued at $802,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP grew its position in shares of BCE by 100.6% during the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 20,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 10,273 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.