Brokerages Set BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) PT at $40.00

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on BCE. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th.

BCE Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $22.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 191.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. BCE has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $36.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.86.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. As a group, research analysts forecast that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.14%. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 2,291.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,421,000 after acquiring an additional 864,472 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in BCE by 25.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,282,000 after purchasing an additional 738,656 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 130.1% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,200,000 after purchasing an additional 165,881 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of BCE by 78.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 52,966 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth about $9,522,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

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.