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

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on BCE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Bank of America lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in BCE by 121.2% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in BCE by 321.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in BCE in the 2nd quarter worth about $76,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $22.71 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $20.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 324.43, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $25.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.81. BCE has a 52-week low of $21.87 and a 52-week high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.737 dividend. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.98%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4,028.57%.

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.