BCE (TSE:BCE) Price Target Raised to C$33.50 at Canaccord Genuity Group

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its price objective increased by Canaccord Genuity Group from C$33.00 to C$33.50 in a report released on Friday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BCE. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of BCE from C$45.00 to C$41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. National Bankshares decreased their target price on BCE from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Scotiabank cut their price target on BCE from C$45.00 to C$42.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from C$35.00 to C$29.00 in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$40.42.

BCE Price Performance

BCE opened at C$31.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is C$34.53 and its 200 day moving average price is C$41.31. BCE has a 12-month low of C$31.43 and a 12-month high of C$52.01. The firm has a market cap of C$28.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported C$0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.77 by C($0.02). BCE had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 8.75%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BCE will post 3.1120864 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $0.9975 dividend. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio 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.