BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE – Get Rating) (TSE:BCE) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.19.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BCE shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of BCE from C$63.00 to C$64.00 in a research note on Friday, November 4th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of BCE from C$64.00 to C$65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of BCE from C$62.00 to C$64.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 9th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Advocate Group LLC increased its position in shares of BCE by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 10,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 5,168 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at about $66,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at about $256,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its position in shares of BCE by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,138,915 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,055,000 after acquiring an additional 357,194 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.92% of the company’s stock.

BCE Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $46.32 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.94 and a 200-day moving average of $46.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. BCE has a 12-month low of $39.88 and a 12-month high of $59.34. The firm has a market cap of $42.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE – Get Rating) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 16.10%. The company had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.50 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 15th were given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.83%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 14th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 111.11%.

About BCE

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BCE Inc, a telecommunications and media company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline, and Bell Media. The Bell Wireless segment offers wireless voice and data communication products and services, as well as consumer electronics products.