BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives $32.50 Average Target Price from Analysts

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 a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.50.

BCE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Desjardins upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Cibc World Mkts cut BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Scotiabank upgraded BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. CIBC restated a "neutral" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 15th.

BCE Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:BCE traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.07. 1,533,200 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,252,615. BCE has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $35.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.34 and a 200 day moving average of $23.01. The stock has a market cap of $21.51 billion, a PE ratio of 79.57, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.63.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released 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). BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The firm had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that BCE will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 434.48%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in BCE in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in BCE in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.