BCE (TSE:BCE) Hits New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• BCE shares hit a new 52-week low at C$29.64, down 1.6%, despite a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average analyst price target of C$37.69.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of C$0.65 on C$6.18 billion in revenue and maintains a quarterly dividend of C$0.4375, equivalent to a 5.9% annualized yield.
• Director Louis Vachon purchased 10,000 shares for approximately C$306,300, increasing his personal stake by 11.11%.

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE's stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as C$29.64 and last traded at C$29.70, with a volume of 2095831 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$30.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BCE. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on BCE from C$39.00 to C$36.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of BCE from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from C$31.00 to C$35.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. TD increased their target price on shares of BCE from C$37.00 to C$40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of BCE from C$35.00 to C$33.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, TD Securities raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$37.69.

BCE Stock Down 1.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.06. The company has a market capitalization of C$27.66 billion, a PE ratio of 4.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50-day simple moving average is C$31.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$32.70.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported C$0.65 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$6.18 billion for the quarter. BCE had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 27.73%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 3.1120864 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Louis Vachon acquired 10,000 shares of BCE stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$30.63 per share, for a total transaction of C$306,300.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$3,063,000. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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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