CIBC Upgrades BCE (NYSE:BCE) to Sector Outperform

CIBC upgraded shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Argus lowered BCE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Securities lowered BCE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $49.00.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE:BCE opened at $32.89 on Tuesday. BCE has a 1-year low of $31.82 and a 1-year high of $48.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $30.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 8.82%. Research analysts anticipate that BCE will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.742 dividend. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. BCE’s payout ratio is 174.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 34,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 11,284 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 167,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,687,000 after purchasing an additional 43,094 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 1st quarter valued at about $588,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 1st quarter valued at about $368,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.