National Bankshares Cuts BCE (TSE:BCE) Price Target to C$35.00

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its price target lowered by National Bankshares from C$37.00 to C$35.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on BCE. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of BCE from C$45.00 to C$42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on BCE from C$37.50 to C$33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$41.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of BCE from C$37.00 to C$32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$41.88.

BCE Stock Up 2.6 %

BCE stock opened at C$34.40 on Friday. BCE has a 52 week low of C$31.99 and a 52 week high of C$56.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$37.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$43.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. The company has a market cap of C$31.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.9975 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.60%. BCE’s payout ratio is 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.