BCE (TSE:BCE) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as C$30.03 and last traded at C$30.15, with a volume of 4384668 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$30.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BCE. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of BCE from C$39.50 to C$41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Desjardins decreased their target price on shares of BCE from C$41.50 to C$41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of BCE from C$38.00 to C$39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a C$37.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$38.33.

BCE Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a market cap of C$28.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.47, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$33.11 and a 200 day moving average of C$33.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 183.90, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.63 EPS for the quarter. BCE had a net margin of 26.07% and a return on equity of 29.69%. The business had revenue of C$6.17 billion during the quarter. Research analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 3.1120864 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 25.85%.

Insider Transactions at BCE

In related news, insider Karine Moses sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$33.25, for a total transaction of C$116,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$123,424. This trade represents a 48.53% decrease in their position. Also, Director Louis Vachon bought 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of C$33.39 per share, for a total transaction of C$500,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 75,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,504,250. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,255 shares of company stock valued at $376,464. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.