BCE (TSE:BCE) Given New C$53.00 Price Target at National Bankshares

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its price objective reduced by National Bankshares from C$55.00 to C$53.00 in a research note published on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on BCE. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of BCE from C$58.00 to C$54.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. CIBC dropped their price objective on shares of BCE from C$56.00 to C$54.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Desjardins dropped their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of BCE from C$60.00 to C$54.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of C$55.65.

BCE Stock Down 1.0 %

BCE opened at C$46.03 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$50.67 and a 200-day moving average price of C$52.29. The firm has a market capitalization of C$41.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.98, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43. BCE has a one year low of C$45.40 and a one year high of C$65.66.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported C$0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.73 by C$0.03. The firm had revenue of C$6.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.48 billion. BCE had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 10.81%. Equities research analysts expect that BCE will post 3.0694723 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.998 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.67%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 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 three segments: Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline, and Bell Media. The Bell Wireless segment offers integrated digital wireless voice and data communication products and services, as well as consumer electronics products.