BCE (TSE:BCE) Upgraded by CIBC to “Outperform”

CIBC upgraded shares of BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. National Bankshares lowered 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 research note on Monday, March 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of BCE from C$57.00 to C$55.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Scotiabank decreased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of BCE from C$54.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of BCE from C$57.00 to C$54.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of C$52.48.

BCE Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$44.59 on Tuesday. BCE has a 1 year low of C$43.96 and a 1 year high of C$65.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$46.98 and a 200-day moving average price of C$51.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.98, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of C$40.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44.

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

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.998 per share. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.95%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 175.00%.

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.