Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates Sector Perform Rating for BCE (NYSE:BCE)

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their sector perform rating on shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $39.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $23.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.05 billion, a PE ratio of 199.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.39 and a 200-day moving average of $28.80. BCE has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $37.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. Analysts predict that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.64%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,350.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in BCE by 217.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in BCE by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 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.