BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$45.36.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lowered their target price on BCE from C$50.50 to C$47.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of BCE from C$47.00 to C$45.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on BCE from C$47.00 to C$41.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE opened at C$37.74 on Thursday. BCE has a twelve month low of C$37.33 and a twelve month high of C$56.18. The firm has a market capitalization of C$34.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$44.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$45.49.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.9975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.57%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 185.58%.

About BCE

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.