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

Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.6667.

A number of brokerages have commented on BCE. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 15th. Scotiabank raised shares of BCE from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Desjardins raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th.

BCE Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of BCE stock opened at $25.2350 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.53 billion, a PE ratio of 87.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.62. BCE has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BCE will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 565.0%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 434.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 25,249,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $579,458,000 after acquiring an additional 6,697,900 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BCE by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,101,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $369,574,000 after purchasing an additional 222,432 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of BCE by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,181,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $325,559,000 after buying an additional 4,783,232 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of BCE by 99.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 14,006,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $310,682,000 after buying an additional 6,981,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of BCE by 170.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,679,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $268,164,000 after buying an additional 7,365,253 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.