BCE, Inc. (BCE) to Distribute Quarterly Dividend of C$0.44 on January 15th

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of C$0.44 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, January 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th.

BCE has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2% per year over the last three years. BCE has a dividend payout ratio of 66.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect BCE to earn $1.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 65.6%.

BCE Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $22.00 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.69. BCE has a one year low of $18.68 and a one year high of $26.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.51 billion, a PE ratio of 4.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 0.53.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 12.90%. On average, equities analysts forecast that BCE will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in BCE in the first quarter worth $33,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in BCE by 99.3% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the period. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new position in BCE during the first quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 16.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BCE

BCE Inc is a Canadian communications and media company headquartered in Montréal, Québec. Through its Bell Canada operations, the company provides wireless and wireline telecommunications services, including mobile voice and data, high-speed internet, local and long-distance voice, and digital television. Bell serves residential, small-business, enterprise and government customers across Canada.

BCE also operates a media business through Bell Media, which includes television networks, digital platforms, radio stations and related content operations.