BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.00.

BCE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Zacks Research raised BCE from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on BCE from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on BCE in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in BCE by 99.3% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new stake in BCE during the 1st quarter worth about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $20.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.44. BCE has a 1 year low of $18.68 and a 1 year high of $26.52. The firm has a market cap of $19.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.17, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. BCE had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.798-1.919 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BCE will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of C$0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.6%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.77%.

About BCE

BCE Inc is a Canadian communications and media company headquartered in Montréal, Québec. Through its Bell Canada operations, the company provides wireless and wireline telecommunications services, including mobile voice and data, high-speed internet, local and long-distance voice, and digital television. Bell serves residential, small-business, enterprise and government customers across Canada.

BCE also operates a media business through Bell Media, which includes television networks, digital platforms, radio stations and related content operations.