BCE (NYSE:BCE) Stock Price Up 1% After Dividend Announcement

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s stock price rose 1% on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $22.49 and last traded at $22.36. Approximately 745,768 shares changed hands during mid-day 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.18%. BCE’s payout ratio is 2,283.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

BCE Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $20.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 190.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of BCE by 3.9% in the third quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in BCE by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in BCE by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in BCE by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. 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.