BCE (NYSE:BCE) Given Sector Perform Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their sector perform rating on shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $39.00 price objective on the utilities provider's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BCE. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded down $0.29 on Tuesday, hitting $23.11. 2,128,163 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,320,102. BCE has a 12-month low of $21.87 and a 12-month high of $37.33. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $23.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.64. The company has a market cap of $21.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 192.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

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BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. Analysts expect that BCE will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is currently 2,350.00%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCE. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in BCE by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $656,421,000 after acquiring an additional 864,472 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 25.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $127,282,000 after purchasing an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 48.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of BCE by 130.1% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,200,000 after purchasing an additional 165,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,192,000 after buying an additional 52,966 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

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.