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

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.6667.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings raised BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Barrington Research upgraded BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 27th.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE:BCE opened at $25.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.06 billion, a PE ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.60. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $26.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.14.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.55 billion. BCE had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that BCE will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.07%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in BCE by 735.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in BCE by 1,642.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in BCE by 81.0% during the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

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.