BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.00.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Cibc Captl Mkts raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 278,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,400,000 after purchasing an additional 75,053 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in BCE by 64.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in BCE by 29.9% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 520,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,529,000 after buying an additional 119,793 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors increased its holdings in BCE by 35.4% in the second quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 61,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after buying an additional 16,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of BCE by 5.8% in the second quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 136,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 7,519 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $25.48 on Friday. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $26.01. The company has a market cap of $23.76 billion, a PE ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.79.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a net margin of 25.62% and a return on equity of 17.35%. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. BCE’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.99%.

About BCE

BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.