BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.00.

BCE has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 17th.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $26.07 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.02. The firm has a market cap of $24.31 billion, a PE ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.60. BCE has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $26.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 16.30%. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. BCE’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 37,579,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $896,398,000 after buying an additional 1,992,000 shares during the period. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its position in BCE by 9.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,020,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $429,834,000 after acquiring an additional 700,797 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,250,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of BCE by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,212,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $378,981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206,385 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Company Profile

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.