Brokerages Set BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Price Target at $33.50

Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.00.

Several equities analysts recently commented on BCE shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in BCE during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in BCE by 2,459.6% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in BCE during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $23.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.22. BCE has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $27.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.53 billion, a PE ratio of 79.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.61.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The company had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.78%.

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.