BCE (TSE:BCE) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results
by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat GemBCE (TSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (NYSE:BCE) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported C$0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. BCE had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 31.99%. The firm had revenue of C$6.17 billion for the quarter.
BCE Stock Performance
Shares of TSE:BCE traded up C$0.38 during trading on Thursday, reaching C$33.50. 6,197,743 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,680,376. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 179.16, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.43. BCE has a 12 month low of C$29.17 and a 12 month high of C$36.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$34.24 and a 200-day moving average of C$33.52. The stock has a market capitalization of C$31.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.33.
BCE Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.02%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. National Bank Financial lifted their price target on shares of BCE from C$38.00 to C$39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of BCE from C$33.00 to C$37.00 in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of BCE from C$39.50 to C$41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of BCE from C$38.00 to C$39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from C$41.00 to C$37.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$37.25.
View Our Latest Stock Report on BCE
BCE Company Profile
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.