BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives $30.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.25.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded BCE from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $24.50 to $27.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on BCE in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, May 29th.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.36 on Tuesday. BCE has a 12-month low of $20.87 and a 12-month high of $26.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The company has a market cap of $21.78 billion, a PE ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.51.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. BCE had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 25.49%.The firm had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.798-1.919 EPS. Analysts expect that BCE will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the second quarter valued at $107,023,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter worth $100,999,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter worth $91,811,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its position in BCE by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 34,107,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $797,161,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024,110 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in BCE by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,136,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,749,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250,106 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BCE

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.