BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• BCE has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 11 brokerages, with six buys and five holds. Analysts’ average 12-month price target is $29.25, above the recent $23.71 share price.
• Recent analyst actions have been generally positive, including upgrades from Bank of America and TD Securities to “buy,” while Raymond James initiated coverage with a “market perform” rating.
• BCE reported quarterly EPS of $0.47, slightly exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share, representing an annualized yield of approximately 7.4%.

Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.25.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BCE shares. Bank of America upgraded BCE from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $24.50 to $27.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, July 10th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.85, a PEG ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. BCE has a 12 month low of $20.87 and a 12 month high of $26.52.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.35 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 25.49%.BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.798-1.919 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that BCE will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. BCE's payout ratio is 25.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of BCE by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 37,579,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $896,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992,000 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its position in BCE by 9.7% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 34,107,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $797,161,000 after buying an additional 3,024,110 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in BCE by 0.9% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,296,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $436,320,000 after buying an additional 160,310 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 3,283.1% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 16,717,778 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $359,599,000 after acquiring an additional 16,223,620 shares during the period. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its position in shares of BCE by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 8,744,821 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $208,459,000 after acquiring an additional 511,011 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc NYSE: BCE is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.

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