Brokerages Set BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Price Target at C$50.36

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$50.36.

BCE has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of BCE from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on BCE from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on BCE from C$50.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Desjardins lifted their price target on BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

BCE Price Performance

BCE traded down C$0.34 on Friday, hitting C$45.57. 2,407,027 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,935,739. The firm has a market capitalization of C$41.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43. BCE has a 12 month low of C$42.58 and a 12 month high of C$56.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$46.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$46.04.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.80 by C($0.02). BCE had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The firm had revenue of C$6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.07 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that BCE will post 3.1120864 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.998 per share. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.