BCE (TSE:BCE) Given New C$53.25 Price Target at Scotiabank

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its price objective cut by Scotiabank from C$55.50 to C$53.25 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on BCE. National Bankshares lowered their price target on shares of BCE from C$55.00 to C$53.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Desjardins dropped their target price on shares of BCE from C$58.00 to C$55.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on BCE from C$57.00 to C$55.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. CIBC dropped their price objective on BCE from C$54.00 to C$52.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on BCE from C$54.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$53.63.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE opened at C$44.42 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is C$47.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$51.34. BCE has a twelve month low of C$43.96 and a twelve month high of C$65.66. The firm has a market capitalization of C$40.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44.

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

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.998 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.99%. BCE’s payout ratio 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.