Brokerages Set BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) PT at C$36.73

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$36.73.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of BCE from C$31.50 to C$32.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of BCE from C$28.00 to C$29.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, National Bankshares set a C$35.00 price objective on shares of BCE and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE traded up C$0.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$31.82. 5,344,749 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,922,455. BCE has a 52 week low of C$28.73 and a 52 week high of C$49.13. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is C$30.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$31.97. The firm has a market cap of C$28.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.75, 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 Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.50%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,338.57%.

About BCE

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.