BCE (NYSE:BCE) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Cibc World Mkts

Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Friday morning, Zacks.com reports.

BCE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, CIBC upgraded BCE from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $45.33.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.00. 3,558,758 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,323,652. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. BCE has a 1-year low of $31.13 and a 1-year high of $42.96. The company has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that BCE will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.729 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.33%. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 202.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 239.9% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in BCE by 3,480.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. 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.