Royal Bank of Canada Raises BCE (TSE:BCE) Price Target to C$53.00

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from C$51.00 to C$53.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 10.79% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on BCE. TD Securities upped their target price on BCE from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on BCE from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Desjardins upped their target price on BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of BCE from C$47.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$51.17.

BCE Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of BCE stock traded down C$0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching C$47.84. 1,953,700 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,970,051. The stock’s 50 day moving average is C$46.77 and its 200-day moving average is C$46.19. The company has a market cap of C$43.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. BCE has a fifty-two week low of C$42.58 and a fifty-two week high of C$56.18.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last released 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). BCE had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The firm had revenue of C$6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.07 billion.

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.