Barclays Cuts BCE (NYSE:BCE) Price Target to $30.00

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $34.00 to $30.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $27.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $24.82 billion, a PE ratio of 388.64, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.51. BCE has a twelve month low of $27.11 and a twelve month high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.84%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4,228.57%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of BCE by 5,036.0% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,842,000 after buying an additional 1,328,042 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in BCE by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,677,000 after buying an additional 1,061,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in BCE by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,553,000 after buying an additional 905,857 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.