BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.33.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BCE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, CIBC upgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd.

BCE Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $34.52 on Friday. BCE has a 1-year low of $31.13 and a 1-year high of $42.96. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. BCE had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 8.39%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BCE will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.729 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.45%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 200.69%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in shares of BCE by 5.0% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 210,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,818,000 after purchasing an additional 9,954 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in BCE by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in BCE by 116.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 56,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,816,000 after acquiring an additional 30,125 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC bought a new stake in BCE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $520,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 207.2% during the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 18,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 12,476 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.