BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.67.

BCE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $33.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.76. The firm has a market cap of $30.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.58. BCE has a 1 year low of $31.13 and a 1 year high of $41.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.65.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. BCE had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 8.39%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Analysts predict that BCE will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.729 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 204.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in BCE by 171.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,284,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,736,000 after purchasing an additional 2,708,625 shares during the period. FIL Ltd increased its stake in BCE by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 14,007,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $551,505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,217,262 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of BCE by 5,036.0% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,842,000 after buying an additional 1,328,042 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,677,000 after buying an additional 1,061,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of BCE by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,351,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033,134 shares in the last quarter. 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.