BCE (NYSE:BCE) Upgraded by CIBC to “Sector Outperform”

CIBC upgraded shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Argus lowered BCE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated a market perform rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Securities lowered shares of BCE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $49.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $33.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.77. The firm has a market cap of $30.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.56. BCE has a 1-year low of $31.82 and a 1-year high of $48.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 8.82%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BCE will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.742 per share. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. BCE’s payout ratio is 174.56%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 16.1% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 452,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,388,000 after purchasing an additional 62,676 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the first quarter worth about $207,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in BCE by 52.6% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 47,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,540,000 after buying an additional 16,534 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. increased its stake in BCE by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 10,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. Finally, Addenda Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of BCE by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 701,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,821,000 after buying an additional 48,002 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.