BCE (NYSE:BCE) Share Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s share price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.25 and traded as high as $22.03. BCE shares last traded at $21.9960, with a volume of 7,706,377 shares trading hands.

Key BCE News

Here are the key news stories impacting BCE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BCE reported Q3 EPS of $0.53, above the $0.49 consensus, and revenue also topped estimates. The earnings beat may support the view that the shares are undervalued. BCE Surpasses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: BCE declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.44 per share, equivalent to about C$1.75 annually and an indicated yield of 8%. That is attractive to income-focused investors, though the yield alone does not establish the dividend’s safety. BCE Stock Still Looks Reasonable
• Negative Sentiment: EPS was below the $0.57 reported a year earlier. Some coverage also characterized the quarter as a major miss and highlighted a larger AI investment, pointing to possible concerns about other performance measures and whether the spending will generate adequate returns despite the consensus-beating headline figures. BCE Q3 Earnings: A Big Miss Funded by a Bigger AI Bet

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BCE. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised BCE from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.00.

BCE Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.04. BCE had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 9.76%. Analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of C$0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.1%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 74.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 7,964,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,507,000 after purchasing an additional 338,039 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in BCE in the third quarter valued at about $434,000. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in BCE by 93.6% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 29,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 14,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in BCE by 2.3% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 221,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,526,000 after buying an additional 5,028 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Company Profile