BCE (TSE:BCE) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• BCE shares crossed above their 200‑day moving average (200‑day MA C$33.33), trading as high as C$36.21 and last at C$36.11 on volume ~3.99M, a commonly watched bullish technical signal.
• Analyst sentiment has improved with multiple upgrades (BMO, CIBC, National Bank, TD) and a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$38.05.
• BCE pays a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 (annualized $1.75) for a 4.8% yield, but investors should note the firm’s high leverage (debt‑to‑equity 179.16) and low liquidity (current ratio 0.58).

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$33.33 and traded as high as C$36.21. BCE shares last traded at C$36.11, with a volume of 3,990,760 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of BCE from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a C$37.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. National Bank Financial upped their price objective on shares of BCE from C$38.00 to C$39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Desjardins reduced their target price on shares of BCE from C$41.00 to C$40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on shares of BCE from C$38.00 to C$40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$38.05.

BCE Stock Down 0.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 179.16, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is C$34.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$33.33. The stock has a market capitalization of C$33.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.32, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.47.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 34.02%.

BCE Company Profile

Bell Media is Canada's leading media and entertainment company with a portfolio of assets in premium video, audio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. This includes Canada's most-watched television network, CTV; the largest Canadian-owned video streamer, Crave, with a premium add-on to include STARZ; a powerful suite of specialty channels; the most-trusted news brand, CTV News; Canada's cross-platform sports leaders, TSN and RDS; leading out-of-home advertising network, Astral; Québec's fast-growing conventional French-language network, Noovo; the country's leading radio and podcast app, iHeartRadio Canada; and a range of award-winning original productions, brands, and services.

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