Analysts Set BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) PT at $45.00

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.50.

A number of research firms have recently commented on BCE. Bank of America lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of BCE by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in BCE by 25.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,282,000 after acquiring an additional 738,656 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in BCE by 48.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166,800 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in BCE by 130.1% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,200,000 after purchasing an additional 165,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in BCE by 78.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 52,966 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $23.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a PE ratio of 196.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. BCE has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $38.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.50.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. Research analysts predict that BCE will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,350.00%.

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.