BMO Capital Markets Raises BCE (TSE:BCE) Price Target to C$51.00

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its target price raised by BMO Capital Markets from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports.

BCE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of BCE from C$50.00 to C$52.00 in a research note on Thursday. Cormark decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of BCE from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$51.17.

BCE Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of TSE:BCE opened at C$47.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$43.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. BCE has a 1-year low of C$42.58 and a 1-year high of C$56.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$46.95 and a 200 day moving average price of C$46.18.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.80 by C($0.02). The business had revenue of C$6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$6.07 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 8.75%. On average, research analysts anticipate that BCE will post 2.991195 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.998 per share. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.