BCE (TSE:BCE) Given New C$40.00 Price Target at Scotia

BCE (TSE:BCEFree Report) (NYSE:BCE) had its price target increased by Scotia from C$39.00 to C$40.00 in a research report report published on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. Scotia currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock.

BCE has been the subject of several other reports. Desjardins lowered their price target on BCE from C$43.50 to C$41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on BCE from C$39.00 to C$36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on BCE from C$35.00 to C$33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial set a C$37.00 target price on BCE and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised BCE from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from C$31.00 to C$35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$37.31.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on BCE

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$31.67 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is C$31.75 and its 200-day moving average price is C$33.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 183.90, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66. BCE has a one year low of C$29.66 and a one year high of C$36.25. The firm has a market cap of C$29.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.30.

BCE (TSE:BCEGet Free Report) (NYSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported C$0.65 earnings per share for the quarter. BCE had a net margin of 26.07% and a return on equity of 29.69%. The firm had revenue of C$6.18 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BCE will post 3.1120864 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th were issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Louis Vachon purchased 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$33.39 per share, for a total transaction of C$500,850.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 75,000 shares in the company, valued at C$2,504,250. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Thierry Chaumont sold 4,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$33.59, for a total value of C$138,054.90. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,255 shares of company stock valued at $376,464. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

BCE Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Bell Media is Canada’s leading media and entertainment company with a portfolio of assets in premium video, audio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. This includes Canada’s most-watched television network, CTV; the largest Canadian-owned video streamer, Crave, with a premium add-on to include STARZ; a powerful suite of specialty channels; the most-trusted news brand, CTV News; Canada’s cross-platform sports leaders, TSN and RDS; leading out-of-home advertising network, Astral; Québec’s fast-growing conventional French-language network, Noovo; the country’s leading radio and podcast app, iHeartRadio Canada; and a range of award-winning original productions, brands, and services.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for BCE (TSE:BCE)

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