BCE (TSE:BCE) Downgraded by National Bankshares to Sector Perform

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, BayStreet.CA reports. National Bankshares currently has C$48.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of C$52.00.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. TD Securities lifted their price target on BCE from C$47.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Cormark cut their target price on BCE from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on BCE from C$50.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Desjardins lifted their price objective on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of C$51.00.

BCE Stock Down 1.3 %

TSE BCE opened at C$45.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$47.23 and a 200-day moving average price of C$46.06. BCE has a one year low of C$42.58 and a one 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 market capitalization of C$41.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.78 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$6.07 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.998 dividend. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 185.58%.

About BCE

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.