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

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.00.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. Barclays dropped their target price on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Argus cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price target (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in BCE by 10.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 555,103 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,786,000 after acquiring an additional 50,975 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in BCE by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 170,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,479,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in BCE by 30.1% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 117,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,528,000 after purchasing an additional 27,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in BCE by 7.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 36,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE BCE opened at $32.11 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $35.67 and its 200-day moving average is $38.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.56. BCE has a one year low of $32.00 and a one year high of $48.38.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 8.82%. Equities research analysts predict that BCE will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.742 per share. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 173.96%.

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.