BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.00.

BCE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company.

BCE Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of BCE opened at $23.16 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.63. BCE has a twelve month low of $21.87 and a twelve month high of $41.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 330.79, a PEG ratio of 3.76 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.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,028.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 3.6% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,191,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,559,000 after purchasing an additional 41,655 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in BCE by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 145,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,721,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of BCE by 166.1% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 482,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,603,000 after buying an additional 65,899 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 62,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.