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

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.6667.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. TD Securities lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th.

BCE Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of BCE opened at $25.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.40. BCE has a 52 week low of $21.09 and a 52 week high of $26.52.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.04. BCE had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 25.66%.The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, analysts predict that BCE will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 1.4% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 32,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 11.1% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 15.7% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 4.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.