Analysts Set BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Price Target at $45.00

Shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.50.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BCE. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BCE. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 20,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 3,690 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,878,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $368,073,000 after purchasing an additional 411,911 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth $7,504,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 594.6% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 64,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 54,821 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 119.6% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 37,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,286 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $22.88 on Friday. BCE has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $38.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 190.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BCE will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,283.33%.

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.