Brokerages Set BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Price Target at $49.25

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.25.

A number of brokerages recently commented on BCE. CIBC upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in BCE by 239.9% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in BCE by 3,480.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $31.47 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $33.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.57. BCE has a 1 year low of $31.13 and a 1 year high of $45.65.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. BCE had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. Analysts anticipate that BCE will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.738 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.38%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 201.39%.

BCE Company Profile

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.