BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$40.42.

Several research firms recently issued reports on BCE. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of BCE from C$31.00 to C$33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays lowered shares of BCE from an “equal weight” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from C$41.00 to C$30.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from C$35.00 to C$29.00 in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of BCE from C$42.00 to C$40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of BCE from C$33.00 to C$33.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

BCE Stock Up 1.9 %

BCE stock opened at C$32.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$29.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. BCE has a 12-month low of C$31.43 and a 12-month high of C$51.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$34.40.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.9975 per share. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 185.58%.

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.