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

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$41.88.

BCE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of 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 Bankshares decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on BCE from C$45.00 to C$41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th.

BCE Stock Performance

TSE:BCE opened at C$33.69 on Friday. BCE has a twelve month low of C$31.99 and a twelve month high of C$56.18. The firm has a market capitalization of C$30.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 4.67 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$36.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$42.74.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.9975 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.84%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.