BCE (NYSE:BCE) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on BCE. National Bank Financial lowered BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $28.09 on Tuesday. BCE has a 12-month low of $27.29 and a 12-month high of $41.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.64. The stock has a market cap of $25.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.59.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 186.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,725,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $500,376,000 after buying an additional 80,879 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in BCE by 12.0% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,553,000 after buying an additional 905,857 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in BCE by 23.8% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after buying an additional 1,061,488 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in BCE by 0.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,932,000 after buying an additional 21,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 5.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,379,000 after buying an additional 186,659 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.