BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$44.68.

BCE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on BCE from C$46.00 to C$41.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on BCE from C$47.00 to C$41.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on BCE from C$45.00 to C$42.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, National Bankshares lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$42.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

BCE Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of TSE:BCE traded down C$1.27 during midday trading on Monday, hitting C$34.05. The company had a trading volume of 9,216,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,253,821. BCE has a 12 month low of C$33.95 and a 12 month high of C$56.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of C$40.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. The company has a market cap of C$31.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.9975 per share. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.