BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,610,000 shares, a growth of 25.8% from the March 31st total of 15,590,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BCE shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Argus lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. CIBC upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of BCE by 239.9% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its position in BCE by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,078,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,550,887. BCE has a 52 week low of $31.82 and a 52 week high of $48.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BCE will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.742 per share. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.04%. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 174.56%.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc, a communications company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Bell Communication and Technology Services, and Bell Media. The Bell Communication and Technology Services segment provides wireless products and services including mobile data and voice plans and devices; wireline products and services comprising data, including internet access, internet protocol television, cloud-based services, and business solutions, as well as voice, and other communication services and products; and satellite TV and connectivity services for residential, small and medium-sized business, government, and large enterprise customers.