BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Receives C$52.15 Average PT from Brokerages

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$52.15.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BCE. National Bankshares dropped their price target on shares of BCE from C$55.00 to C$53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from C$54.00 to C$47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of BCE from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from C$54.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Cormark reduced their target price on BCE from C$58.00 to C$53.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on BCE from C$53.25 to C$53.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

BCE Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$45.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of C$41.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$46.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$50.74. BCE has a 1 year low of C$43.96 and a 1 year high of C$64.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 184.91, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported C$0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.73 by C$0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 7.88%. The company had revenue of C$6.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$6.48 billion. Research analysts forecast that BCE will post 3.0296638 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.998 per share. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 206.74%.

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.