BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BCE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

BCE Stock Up 0.3 %

BCE opened at $22.74 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.63. BCE has a 52 week low of $21.62 and a 52 week high of $36.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $20.96 billion, a PE ratio of 189.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. As a group, research analysts expect that BCE will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.25%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in BCE in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other 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.