BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives $40.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.00.

BCE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd.

BCE Stock Up 0.7 %

BCE stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.81. 1,714,829 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,802,212. The stock has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 181.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. BCE has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $36.17. The firm's 50 day moving average is $22.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.97.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. BCE's payout ratio is 2,291.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of BCE by 217.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in BCE by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.