BCE (TSE:BCE) Downgraded by National Bankshares

National Bankshares lowered shares of BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. National Bankshares currently has C$48.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of C$52.00.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BCE. Cormark cut their price target on BCE from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of BCE from C$51.00 to C$53.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of BCE from C$50.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Desjardins upped their target price on BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$51.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$45.76 on Tuesday. BCE has a 52-week low of C$42.58 and a 52-week high of C$56.18. The stock has a market cap of C$41.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is C$47.23 and its 200-day moving average is C$46.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.78 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of C$6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$6.07 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that BCE will post 3.0598958 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.998 dividend. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 185.58%.

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.