BCE (TSE:BCE) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as C$32.44 and last traded at C$32.63, with a volume of 3703728 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$33.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BCE. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Securities cut their target price on BCE from C$39.00 to C$37.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on BCE from C$37.50 to C$33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of BCE from C$45.00 to C$42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$43.38.

BCE Trading Down 1.9 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$39.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$44.02. The firm has a market cap of C$29.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.9975 per share. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 185.58%.

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.