BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BCE shares. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 2.6% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 3.9% in the third quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its stake in BCE by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $23.16 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $21.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 330.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.56. BCE has a 12-month low of $21.87 and a 12-month high of $41.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4,028.57%.

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.