BCE (TSE:BCE) Hits New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• BCE shares hit a new 52-week low, falling to C$27.75 before last trading at C$28.03, below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive: BCE has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of C$37.46, implying potential upside from its current level.
• BCE declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.4375, equivalent to an annualized C$1.75 payout and a 6.2% yield; director Louis Vachon also purchased 10,000 shares worth approximately C$306,300.

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as C$27.75 and last traded at C$28.03, with a volume of 5222951 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$28.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BCE. TD Securities raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial set a C$37.00 price objective on BCE and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded BCE from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from C$31.00 to C$35.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. National Bank Financial lowered their target price on BCE from C$38.00 to C$36.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on BCE from C$35.00 to C$33.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$37.46.

BCE Trading Down 0.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.06. The business's fifty day moving average is C$31.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$32.32. The firm has a market cap of C$26.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.37.

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

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Louis Vachon acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$30.63 per share, with a total value of C$306,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$3,063,000. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their position. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About BCE

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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