BCE (TSE:BCE) PT Lowered to C$52.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its target price reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, BayStreet.CA reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. National Bank Financial cut shares of BCE from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. National Bankshares downgraded BCE from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and cut their target price for the company from C$52.00 to C$48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Securities decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from C$51.00 to C$50.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of BCE from C$50.00 to C$52.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of C$50.36.

BCE Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of TSE:BCE opened at C$45.45 on Thursday. BCE has a 12-month low of C$42.58 and a 12-month high of C$56.18. The stock has a market capitalization of C$41.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$47.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$46.03. 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 (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.80 by C($0.02). BCE had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The company had revenue of C$6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$6.07 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that BCE will post 3.0598958 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.998 per share. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 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.