Short Interest in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Increases By 6.7%
BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (TSE:BCE) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,760,000 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the October 31st total of 11,960,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.3 days.
BCE Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE BCE traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,830,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,279,289. The company has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.62. BCE has a 1 year low of $36.15 and a 1 year high of $48.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $38.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.71.
BCE (NYSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60. The business had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.56 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 9.37%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BCE will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.
BCE Cuts Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.6969 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.92%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.01%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in BCE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,543,572,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in BCE by 2.1% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 15,712,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $575,871,000 after acquiring an additional 323,998 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of BCE by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 15,198,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $580,173,000 after purchasing an additional 661,255 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of BCE by 53.5% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 13,375,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $742,107,000 after purchasing an additional 4,661,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BCE by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,200,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $553,619,000 after purchasing an additional 496,949 shares during the last quarter. 42.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of analysts recently issued reports on BCE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BCE in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 23rd. National Bank Financial raised BCE from a “sector perform overweight” rating to an “outperform overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Securities lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.43.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on BCE
BCE Company Profile (Get Free Report)
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 three segments: Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline, and Bell Media. The Bell Wireless segment offers integrated digital wireless voice and data communication products and services, as well as consumer electronics products.
Further Reading
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Original: MarketBeat News Feed: Short Interest in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Increases By 6.7%