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

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.33.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of BCE from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th.

BCE Trading Up 0.5 %

BCE stock opened at $33.03 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $34.74 and its 200 day moving average is $33.73. BCE has a 12-month low of $31.13 and a 12-month high of $41.77. The stock has a market cap of $30.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. BCE had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 8.39%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.729 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.83%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 186.16%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of BCE by 3,480.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 121.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 60.0% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

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.