BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.00.

BCE has been the subject of several research reports. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $26.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 382.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.59. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $26.45 and a fifty-two week high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 4,228.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in BCE by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,725,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $500,376,000 after acquiring an additional 80,879 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in BCE by 202.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 12,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 8,584 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in BCE by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in BCE by 60.7% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 6,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 28.7% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 3,855 shares during 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.