BCE (NYSE:BCE) Price Target Raised to $47.00 at BMO Capital Markets

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) had its price objective lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $46.00 to $47.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

BCE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Argus lowered BCE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, CIBC upgraded BCE from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $49.25.

BCE Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $32.88 on Wednesday. BCE has a 1 year low of $31.82 and a 1 year high of $46.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. BCE had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 7.53%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that BCE will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.738 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 204.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 31,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 21,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 340 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.