BCE (NYSE:BCE) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $24.20 and traded as high as $25.47. BCE shares last traded at $25.3850, with a volume of 3,003,136 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 28th. Finally, Barrington Research upgraded BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.67.

BCE Trading Up 0.6%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 26.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in BCE by 735.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 1,642.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 81.0% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

About BCE

BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.