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

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

BCE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. TD Securities downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, May 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in BCE by 735.3% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in BCE during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in BCE by 1,642.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $23.30 on Monday. BCE has a 1 year low of $21.58 and a 1 year high of $26.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.54. The company has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.74.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. BCE’s 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. Sell-side analysts predict that BCE will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

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.