BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.00.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Barrington Research upgraded BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings raised BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th.

BCE Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of BCE stock opened at $25.57 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.11. BCE has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $26.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a PE ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.60.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. BCE had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 26.14%.The business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in BCE by 735.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the third quarter worth $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 1,642.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of BCE by 81.0% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.