BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Receives C$50.42 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$50.42.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on BCE from C$54.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Desjardins raised their price target on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of BCE from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, National Bankshares lowered their price target on BCE from C$52.00 to C$50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th.

BCE Trading Down 0.5 %

BCE stock opened at C$47.77 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$46.31 and a 200 day moving average price of C$46.29. BCE has a 52 week low of C$42.58 and a 52 week high of C$56.18. The stock has a market cap of C$43.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 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.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.80 by C($0.02). The firm had revenue of C$6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.07 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 8.75%.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.998 per share. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.