BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$37.50.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a C$37.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Desjardins set a C$43.50 price target on shares of BCE and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of BCE from C$39.00 to C$36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of BCE from C$35.00 to C$33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Insider Transactions at BCE

In other news, insider Thierry Chaumont sold 4,110 shares of BCE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$33.59, for a total transaction of C$138,054.90. Also, insider Sean Cohan sold 3,645 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$33.48, for a total value of C$122,034.60. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,255 shares of company stock worth $376,464. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of TSE BCE opened at C$30.57 on Tuesday. BCE has a 12 month low of C$29.66 and a 12 month high of C$36.25. The company has a market cap of C$28.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is C$32.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$33.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 183.90.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.63 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$6.17 billion during the quarter. BCE had a return on equity of 29.69% and a net margin of 26.07%. On average, equities analysts expect that BCE will post 3.1120864 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 25.85%.

BCE Company Profile

Bell Media is Canada’s leading media and entertainment company with a portfolio of assets in premium video, audio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. This includes Canada’s most-watched television network, CTV; the largest Canadian-owned video streamer, Crave, with a premium add-on to include STARZ; a powerful suite of specialty channels; the most-trusted news brand, CTV News; Canada’s cross-platform sports leaders, TSN and RDS; leading out-of-home advertising network, Astral; Québec’s fast-growing conventional French-language network, Noovo; the country’s leading radio and podcast app, iHeartRadio Canada; and a range of award-winning original productions, brands, and services.