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

Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.00.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, TD Securities raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCE. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 27.6% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,627,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,755,000 after acquiring an additional 352,151 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE during the second quarter worth approximately $3,181,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired a new stake in BCE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,644,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in BCE by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 567,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,034,000 after purchasing an additional 65,230 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the 1st quarter valued at $268,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.18 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $21.61 billion, a PE ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.61. BCE has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $27.42.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a return on equity of 17.35% and a net margin of 25.62%.The company had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. BCE’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.99%.

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.