Brokerages Set BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Target Price at C$50.42

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$50.42.

Several analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on BCE from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Securities boosted their target price on BCE from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on BCE from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on BCE from C$54.00 to C$51.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, National Bankshares reduced their price target on BCE from C$52.00 to C$50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th.

BCE Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is C$46.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$46.33. The company has a market capitalization of C$44.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. BCE has a fifty-two week low of C$42.58 and a fifty-two week high of C$56.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.80 by C($0.02). The firm had revenue of C$6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$6.07 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.63%.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.998 per share. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a yield of ∞. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 185.58%.

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.