BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Down 1.1% – What’s Next?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) shares dropped 1.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $23.29 and last traded at $23.31. Approximately 689,566 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 2,509,885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BCE. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Edward Jones lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Stock Down 1.2 %

The company has a market cap of $21.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 330.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.12. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.76%. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 321.0% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in BCE during the third quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the second quarter worth about $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.