BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• BCE Inc. has received an average rating of "Hold" from thirteen analysts, with two sell ratings, seven hold ratings, two buy ratings, and two strong buy ratings.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share, representing a 5.0% annual yield, with a payout ratio of 1,338.57%.
• BCE's current market price is C$35.24, with a twelve-month high of C$49.13 and low of C$28.73.

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$34.67.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BCE. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of BCE from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on BCE from C$34.00 to C$32.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Scotiabank raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a C$39.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Cibc World Mkts lowered BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on BCE from C$51.00 to C$35.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th.

BCE Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of TSE BCE opened at C$35.24 on Friday. BCE has a twelve month low of C$28.73 and a twelve month high of C$49.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$32.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$31.96. The firm has a market cap of C$31.92 billion, a PE ratio of 118.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 226.73.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 1,338.57%.

BCE Company Profile

BCE is both a wireless and internet service provider, offering wireless, broadband, television, and landline phone services in Canada. It is one of the big three national wireless carriers, with its roughly 10 million customers constituting about 30% of the market. It is also the ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrierthe legacy telephone provider) throughout much of the eastern half of Canada, including in the most populous Canadian provincesOntario and Quebec.

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