Royal Bank of Canada Cuts BCE (TSE:BCE) Price Target to C$52.00

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its price objective cut by Royal Bank of Canada from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on BCE from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on BCE from C$50.00 to C$52.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. National Bankshares downgraded BCE from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and cut their target price for the stock from C$52.00 to C$48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on BCE from C$48.00 to C$46.00 in a research note on Wednesday. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$50.36.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at C$45.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of C$41.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. 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 has a 52-week low of C$42.58 and a 52-week high of C$56.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$47.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$46.03.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.80 by C($0.02). The company had revenue of C$6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.07 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.63%. Research analysts expect that BCE will post 3.0598958 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.998 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.78%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.