BCE’s (BCE) Sector Perform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $39.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock.

BCE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $23.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $22.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 199.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $37.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.80.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,350.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BCE. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 217.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of BCE by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.