BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives $40.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.00.

BCE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in BCE by 67.1% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 143.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 104,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 61,658 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at $541,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 197.0% during the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 42,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $985,000 after buying an additional 28,191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Down 4.2 %

BCE stock opened at $21.83 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.74. BCE has a 1-year low of $21.62 and a 1-year high of $36.17. The company has a market cap of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 181.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.76%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,291.67%.

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.