BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.00.

Several brokerages recently commented on BCE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, May 29th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BCE from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 44,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of BCE by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,837,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,097,000 after acquiring an additional 282,287 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in BCE by 0.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 793,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,026,000 after acquiring an additional 4,074 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 62.1% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in BCE by 21.7% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,038,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,011,000 after purchasing an additional 897,141 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $22.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.52. BCE has a twelve month low of $20.87 and a twelve month high of $26.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. Sell-side analysts expect that BCE will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.9%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

BCE Company Profile

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.