BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Receives C$38.50 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCEGet Free Report) (NYSE:BCE) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$38.50.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of BCE from C$38.00 to C$39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on BCE from C$39.50 to C$41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Desjardins dropped their price target on BCE from C$41.50 to C$41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from C$41.00 to C$37.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd.

Get Our Latest Analysis on BCE

Insider Transactions at BCE

In related news, insider Karine Moses sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$33.25, for a total value of C$116,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,712 shares in the company, valued at C$123,424. The trade was a 48.53% decrease in their position. Also, Director Louis Vachon bought 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$33.39 per share, with a total value of C$500,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,504,250. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,255 shares of company stock worth $376,465. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BCE Stock Down 0.3%

BCE stock opened at C$32.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 183.90. BCE has a twelve month low of C$29.72 and a twelve month high of C$36.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is C$33.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$33.78. The stock has a market cap of C$30.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.87, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.24.

BCE (TSE:BCEGet Free Report) (NYSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.63 earnings per share for the quarter. BCE had a net margin of 26.07% and a return on equity of 29.69%. The company had revenue of C$6.17 billion for the quarter. Research analysts expect that BCE will post 3.1120864 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.85%.

About BCE

(Get Free Report)

Bell Media is Canada’s leading media and entertainment company with a portfolio of assets in premium video, audio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. This includes Canada’s most-watched television network, CTV; the largest Canadian-owned video streamer, Crave, with a premium add-on to include STARZ; a powerful suite of specialty channels; the most-trusted news brand, CTV News; Canada’s cross-platform sports leaders, TSN and RDS; leading out-of-home advertising network, Astral; Québec’s fast-growing conventional French-language network, Noovo; the country’s leading radio and podcast app, iHeartRadio Canada; and a range of award-winning original productions, brands, and services.

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