BCE (TSE:BCE) PT Lowered to C$47.00 at TD Securities

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its target price cut by TD Securities from C$48.00 to C$47.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on BCE from C$57.00 to C$54.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. CIBC raised shares of BCE from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of BCE from C$55.50 to C$53.25 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from C$57.00 to C$55.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, National Bankshares dropped their target price on shares of BCE from C$55.00 to C$53.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of C$52.15.

BCE Price Performance

TSE BCE opened at C$45.86 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is C$46.34 and its 200-day moving average is C$50.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 184.91. The company has a market capitalization of C$41.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44. BCE has a 12-month low of C$43.96 and a 12-month high of C$64.48.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported C$0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.73 by C$0.03. BCE had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 9.36%. The firm had revenue of C$6.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.48 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that BCE will post 3.0296638 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.998 per share. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 206.74%.

About BCE

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.