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

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE have been assigned an average rating of "Reduce" from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$40.42.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of BCE from C$42.00 to C$40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from C$45.00 to C$41.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from C$35.00 to C$29.00 in a report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, National Bankshares lowered their price target on BCE from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

BCE Trading Up 1.9 %

BCE stock traded up C$0.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting C$32.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,911,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,180,025. The business has a fifty day moving average price of C$34.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. The firm has a market cap of C$29.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. BCE has a 1 year low of C$31.43 and a 1 year high of C$51.57.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported C$0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.77 by C($0.02). BCE had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.63%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that BCE will post 3.1120864 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.9975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.39%. BCE's payout ratio 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.