BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.6667.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of BCE by 735.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in BCE by 1,642.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in BCE by 81.0% in the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $25.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.13. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $26.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.55 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 26.14%.The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.07%.

About BCE

BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.