BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives $30.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.00.

A number of research firms have recently commented on BCE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, July 10th.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE opened at $21.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a PE ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. BCE has a 1 year low of $20.87 and a 1 year high of $26.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.32.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. BCE’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 forecast that BCE will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.1%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 25.61%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 1,642.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. 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.