BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives $32.50 Average PT from Brokerages

Key Points

• BCE, Inc. has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" by fourteen brokerages, with varying ratings including four sell, seven hold, two buy, and one strong buy recommendations.
• The company reported $0.46** earnings per share (EPS)**, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.52, and had revenue of $4.47 billion compared to forecasts of $5.91 billion.
• BCE announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share, reflecting a yield of 7.5% and a high dividend payout ratio of 434.48%.

Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.50.

BCE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. CIBC reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th.

BCE Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BCE traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.00. 110,861 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,242,622. The company has a market capitalization of $21.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.63. BCE has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $35.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.00.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that BCE will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. BCE's payout ratio is 434.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BCE. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in BCE in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 2,459.6% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in BCE in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.