Scotiabank Cuts BCE (TSE:BCE) Price Target to C$39.50

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its target price reduced by Scotiabank from C$40.25 to C$39.50 in a report issued on Friday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on BCE. Barclays upgraded shares of BCE from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a C$37.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from C$35.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Desjardins decreased their price target on BCE from C$41.00 to C$40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$37.85.

BCE Trading Down 2.2%

BCE opened at C$34.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$31.94 billion, a PE ratio of 5.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.47. BCE has a one year low of C$28.73 and a one year high of C$36.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 226.73, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average price is C$33.04 and its 200 day moving average price is C$33.06.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported C$0.79 EPS for the quarter. BCE had a return on equity of 1.39% and a net margin of 1.10%.The company had revenue of C$6.05 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BCE will post 3.1120864 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.09%.

Trending Headlines about BCE

Here are the key news stories impacting BCE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: National Bank raised its price target to C$39 and kept an “outperform” rating — a clear buy-side signal that implies meaningful upside from current levels. BayStreet.CA
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lifted its target from C$33 to C$37, signaling improved conviction from a large institutional analyst. BayStreet.CA
• Positive Sentiment: Technical note — shares have crossed above their 200-day moving average, which traders view as a bullish technical development that can attract momentum buyers. AmericanBankingNews
• Neutral Sentiment: Scotiabank trimmed its target slightly to C$39.50 but maintained an “outperform” rating — still positive in absolute terms but a modest pullback from prior optimism. BayStreet.CA
• Neutral Sentiment: Desjardins cut its target to C$40 (from C$41) but left a “buy” call intact; another mixed signal that keeps multi-analyst upside intact despite small haircut. BayStreet.CA TickerReport
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of BCE’s Q4 results and CEO comments emphasizes a focus on premium customers and revenue mix — strategically positive for ARPU but potentially limiting market-share gains if competitors cut prices. WTOP – Q4 Snapshot MSN – CEO comments
• Negative Sentiment: An opinion piece warns investors to wait for a specific trigger before buying BCE, which can sap near-term demand from cautious retail/institutional flows. MSN – Opinion

About BCE

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.