BCE (NYSE:BCE) Hits New 12-Month Low at $32.27

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $32.27 and last traded at $32.27, with a volume of 995469 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price target (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Argus cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, TD Securities cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.00.

BCE Stock Down 2.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that BCE Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.742 dividend. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.24%. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. BCE’s payout ratio is 174.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in BCE in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in BCE by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in BCE by 239.9% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in BCE in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in BCE in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.