BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE – Get Rating) (NYSE:BCE) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$65.18.

BCE has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of BCE from C$64.00 to C$67.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. Cormark lowered their price target on shares of BCE from C$69.00 to C$68.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of BCE from C$64.00 to C$65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of BCE from C$66.75 to C$66.00 in a report on Friday, February 3rd.

BCE Price Performance

TSE:BCE opened at C$63.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of C$57.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 151.81, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.57. BCE has a 52 week low of C$55.66 and a 52 week high of C$69.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$62.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$62.08.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be given a $0.9675 dividend. This represents a $3.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.10%. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 137.72%.

BCE Company Profile

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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.