BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $23.72 and traded as high as $24.32. BCE shares last traded at $24.14, with a volume of 2,649,619 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on BCE shares. Barclays reduced their target price on BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. TD Securities raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, CIBC raised BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

BCE Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.60.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. BCE had a net margin of 25.62% and a return on equity of 17.35%. The company’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 25.99%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 735.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in BCE in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in BCE in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 2,459.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.