Analysts Set BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Target Price at C$41.88

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$41.88.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BCE. National Bankshares decreased their price objective on BCE from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. TD Securities decreased their target price on BCE from C$37.00 to C$32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on BCE from C$37.50 to C$33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$45.00 to C$42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

BCE Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of TSE BCE opened at C$33.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is C$36.24. BCE has a 1-year low of C$31.99 and a 1-year high of C$56.18. The company has a market capitalization of C$30.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.9975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.05%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 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.