BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Receives C$44.68 Average Price Target from Analysts

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$44.32.

Several research firms recently weighed in on BCE. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on BCE from C$47.00 to C$41.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on BCE from C$45.00 to C$41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. National Bankshares cut their target price on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of BCE from C$45.00 to C$42.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$33.81 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$40.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$44.21. The firm has a market capitalization of C$30.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. BCE has a fifty-two week low of C$33.02 and a fifty-two week high of C$56.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.9975 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.80%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 185.58%.

About BCE

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.