Brokerages Set BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) PT at C$50.42

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$50.42.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cormark decreased their price target on BCE from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. National Bankshares reduced their price target on shares of BCE from C$52.00 to C$50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Desjardins increased their target price on BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at C$47.77 on Friday. BCE has a 12-month low of C$42.58 and a 12-month high of C$56.18. The stock has a market capitalization of C$43.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is C$46.31 and its 200-day moving average is C$46.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.80 by C($0.02). The company had revenue of C$6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$6.07 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.63%.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.998 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.36%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 185.58%.

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.