BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Receives Average Recommendation of "Reduce" from Brokerages

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE has received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the twelve brokerages that are presently 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 issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$40.42.

BCE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank cut their target price on BCE from C$42.00 to C$40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of BCE from C$33.00 to C$33.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. National Bankshares reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays downgraded shares of BCE from an "equal weight" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from C$41.00 to C$30.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from C$35.00 to C$29.00 in a research report on Friday.

BCE Stock Down 6.2 %

Shares of TSE BCE traded down C$2.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching C$31.62. 9,499,711 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,152,927. The company has a market cap of C$28.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. BCE has a one year low of C$31.43 and a one year high of C$52.01. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is C$34.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$41.31.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported C$0.75 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. On average, analysts predict that BCE will post 3.1120864 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders 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 12.62%. BCE's payout ratio is presently 185.58%.

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.