BCE (NYSE:BCE) Trading Up 1% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) rose 1% on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $22.49 and last traded at $22.36. Approximately 745,768 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 3,614,825 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.14.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.46%. BCE’s payout ratio is 2,350.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.50.

BCE Stock Up 1.0 %

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 firm has a market cap of $20.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 186.46, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $24.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.69.

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

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in BCE by 217.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 1,147.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in BCE in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the third quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is 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.