BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$44.68.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BCE shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on BCE from C$47.00 to C$45.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$41.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Securities lowered their price target on BCE from C$39.00 to C$37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

BCE Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$36.32 on Monday. 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 12-month low of C$35.92 and a 12-month high of C$56.18. The stock has a market cap of C$33.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is C$41.11.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given 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 10.99%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.