BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.33.

BCE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $35.40 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $34.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.87. BCE has a one year low of $31.13 and a one year high of $41.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $32.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.58.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. BCE had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 8.39%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that BCE will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.729 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.24%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 204.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in BCE by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 3,480.0% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 60.0% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in 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.