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

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.33.

BCE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BCE from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th.

BCE Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $32.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.58. BCE has a 52-week low of $31.13 and a 52-week high of $41.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.73.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, 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 was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.729 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.98%. BCE’s payout ratio is 185.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 66.4% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,360,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,320,000 after buying an additional 543,320 shares during the last quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. lifted its position in BCE by 6.9% in the third quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 1,378,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,940,000 after buying an additional 88,866 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the third quarter worth about $208,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of BCE by 3.9% during the third quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.