BCE (TSE:BCE) PT Lowered to C$53.25 at Scotiabank

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its price target lowered by Scotiabank from C$55.50 to C$53.25 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on BCE. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of BCE from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and dropped their target price for the stock from C$54.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of BCE from C$55.00 to C$51.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. CIBC dropped their target price on shares of BCE from C$54.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Desjardins decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from C$58.00 to C$55.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from C$54.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of C$52.48.

BCE Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$44.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$40.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$47.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$51.26. BCE has a 12-month low of C$43.96 and a 12-month high of C$65.66.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported C$0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.73 by C$0.03. The business had revenue of C$6.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$6.48 billion. BCE had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 10.81%. Research analysts expect that BCE will post 3.0377747 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.998 dividend. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 175.00%.

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.