Analysts Set BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Target Price at $45.00

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.00.

Several equities analysts have commented on BCE shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company.

BCE Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 330.86, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.53 and its 200 day moving average is $32.03. BCE has a 52 week low of $22.90 and a 52 week high of $41.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.73%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 4,214.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798,427 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in BCE by 5,036.0% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,042 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in BCE by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in BCE by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after buying an additional 1,061,488 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of BCE by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,553,000 after buying an additional 905,857 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.