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 research note released on Tuesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have C$48.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of C$52.00.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BCE. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of BCE from C$50.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Cormark lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on BCE from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of C$51.00.

BCE Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of TSE:BCE opened at C$45.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$47.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$46.06. BCE has a 12-month low of C$42.58 and a 12-month high of C$56.18. The stock has a market capitalization of C$41.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48.

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

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.998 dividend. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.70%. The ex-dividend date 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.