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

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.33.

A number of research firms have recently commented on BCE. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in BCE by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the first quarter worth $31,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in BCE by 3,480.0% in the second 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 period. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its position in BCE by 60.0% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $36.09 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. BCE has a 12-month low of $31.13 and a 12-month high of $41.77. The company has a market capitalization of $32.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.88 and its 200-day moving average is $33.91.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that BCE will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.08%. BCE’s payout ratio is 200.69%.

BCE Company Profile

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.