BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives $33.50 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BCE shares. National Bankshares reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th.

BCE Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.61. BCE has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $27.78. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $23.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.5%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 25.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 11.1% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of BCE by 99.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,692,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,549,000 after acquiring an additional 845,961 shares in the last quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,429,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the third quarter valued at approximately $746,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in BCE by 5.7% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 21,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Company Profile

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.