BCE (TSE:BCE) Downgraded by Barclays to Strong Sell

Barclays cut shares of BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. National Bankshares decreased their price objective 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. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of BCE from C$37.00 to C$32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of BCE from C$45.00 to C$41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of BCE from C$45.00 to C$42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$37.50 to C$33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$41.88.

BCE Trading Down 0.6 %

TSE:BCE opened at C$33.34 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$35.26 and a 200-day moving average price of C$42.01. The stock has a market cap of C$30.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G 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 has a 12 month low of C$31.43 and a 12 month high of C$55.75.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported C$0.75 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that BCE will post 3.1120864 EPS for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a $0.9975 dividend. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend 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.