BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) - What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Ten of 13 analysts rate BCE a buy, while three recommend holding the stock. The average 12-month price target is C$37.12, above its reported market price of C$28.08.
• BCE reported quarterly revenue of C$6.18 billion and earnings of C$0.65 per share, while analysts expect full-year EPS of C$3.11.
• The company maintains an attractive income profile, with an annualized dividend of $1.75 per share and a 6.2% yield; however, its balance sheet shows high leverage, including a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.06.

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$37.12.

A number of brokerages have commented on BCE. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price objective on shares of BCE from C$39.00 to C$38.00 and set an "outperformer" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial set a C$37.00 target price on shares of BCE and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of BCE from C$40.00 to C$36.50 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of BCE from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from C$31.00 to C$35.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Desjardins dropped their price target on BCE from C$43.00 to C$41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th.

BCE Trading Down 0.2%

BCE stock opened at C$28.08 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$30.67 and a 200 day moving average price of C$31.76. BCE has a fifty-two week low of C$26.66 and a fifty-two week high of C$36.25. The firm has a market cap of C$26.19 billion, a PE ratio of 4.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.06, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.73.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported C$0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. BCE had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The company had revenue of C$6.18 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 25.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Louis Vachon acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$30.63 per share, with a total value of C$306,300.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$3,063,000. This trade represents a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BCE Company Profile

Bell Media is Canada's leading media and entertainment company with a portfolio of assets in premium video, audio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. This includes Canada's most-watched television network, CTV; the largest Canadian-owned video streamer, Crave, with a premium add-on to include STARZ; a powerful suite of specialty channels; the most-trusted news brand, CTV News; Canada's cross-platform sports leaders, TSN and RDS; leading out-of-home advertising network, Astral; Québec's fast-growing conventional French-language network, Noovo; the country's leading radio and podcast app, iHeartRadio Canada; and a range of award-winning original productions, brands, and services.

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