BCE (TSE:BCE) PT Raised to C$53.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its price target increased by Royal Bank of Canada from C$51.00 to C$53.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, BayStreet.CA reports.

BCE has been the topic of several other reports. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of BCE from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Cormark dropped their target price on shares of BCE from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. National Bankshares dropped their target price on shares of BCE from C$52.00 to C$50.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of BCE from C$47.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$51.17.

BCE Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of TSE BCE opened at C$47.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$43.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. BCE has a 1 year low of C$42.58 and a 1 year high of C$56.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is C$46.95 and its 200-day moving average is C$46.18.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.80 by C($0.02). The firm had revenue of C$6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.07 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.63%. Equities analysts expect that BCE will post 2.991195 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.998 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.39%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 185.58%.

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.