BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.33.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BCE. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of BCE from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE BCE traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $32.15. 970,463 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,189,419. BCE has a one year low of $31.13 and a one year high of $41.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.40 and a 200-day moving average of $33.73. The stock has a market cap of $29.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.58.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that BCE will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.729 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.07%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 185.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BCE by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,725,614 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $500,376,000 after acquiring an additional 80,879 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in BCE by 12.0% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in BCE by 23.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $178,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061,488 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in BCE by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $163,932,000 after buying an additional 21,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 5.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $115,379,000 after buying an additional 186,659 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.