BCE (TSE:BCE) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• BCE Inc. shares have recently surpassed their 200-day moving average, trading at C$32.65, which is above the average of C$31.98.
• The company's stock is receiving mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of C$34.88.
• BCE has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.4%.

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$31.98 and traded as high as C$33.14. BCE shares last traded at C$32.65, with a volume of 4,869,019 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of BCE from C$39.50 to C$41.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of BCE from C$35.00 to C$36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Desjardins raised their price objective on shares of BCE from C$40.00 to C$40.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of BCE from C$51.00 to C$35.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$34.88.

BCE Stock Performance

The company's fifty day simple moving average is C$33.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$31.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 226.73. The stock has a market capitalization of C$29.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.65.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. BCE's payout ratio is currently 745.65%.

BCE Company Profile

BCE is both a wireless and internet service provider, offering wireless, broadband, television, and landline phone services in Canada. It is one of the big three national wireless carriers, with its roughly 10 million customers constituting about 30% of the market. It is also the ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrierthe legacy telephone provider) throughout much of the eastern half of Canada, including in the most populous Canadian provincesOntario and Quebec.