BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

by · The Markets Daily

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (TSE:BCE) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.25.

Several analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. Argus lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. CIBC raised BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th.

View Our Latest Analysis on BCE

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $32.09 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $29.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.57. BCE has a one year low of $31.82 and a one year high of $46.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.50 and a 200-day moving average of $35.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. BCE had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.86%. On average, equities research analysts predict that BCE will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.738 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 201.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in BCE by 147.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of BCE by 660.0% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 387,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,797,000 after acquiring an additional 336,645 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in BCE by 51.5% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 3,933 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,197,000. Finally, Logan Capital Management Inc. grew its position in BCE by 5.3% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,523,000 after buying an additional 3,329 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Company Profile

(Get Free Report

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.

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