BCE (TSE:BCE) PT Lowered to C$54.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its price objective reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from C$57.00 to C$54.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of BCE from C$57.00 to C$55.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$52.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$57.25 to C$55.50 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Desjardins lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$58.00 to C$55.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$54.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eight 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 has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of C$53.81.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of TSE:BCE opened at C$44.23 on Wednesday. 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 1-year low of C$43.96 and a 1-year high of C$65.66. The company has a market capitalization of C$40.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is C$48.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$51.49.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported C$0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of C$6.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$6.48 billion. Research analysts expect that BCE will post 3.0448065 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.998 dividend. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 175.00%.

BCE Company Profile

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.