BCE (TSE:BCE) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported C$0.65 EPS for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. BCE had a return on equity of 29.69% and a net margin of 26.07%.The business had revenue of C$6.18 billion for the quarter.

BCE Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of BCE stock traded up C$1.01 on Thursday, reaching C$31.87. The company had a trading volume of 7,678,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,217,014. The stock has a market cap of C$29.72 billion, a PE ratio of 4.71, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.30. BCE has a 12 month low of C$29.66 and a 12 month high of C$36.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 183.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of C$31.86 and a 200-day moving average of C$33.42.

BCE Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial set a C$37.00 target price on BCE and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. TD upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a C$37.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on BCE from C$39.00 to C$36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Desjardins set a C$43.50 target price on BCE and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$37.29.

Insider Activity at BCE

In related news, Director Louis Vachon acquired 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$33.39 per share, with a total value of C$500,850.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 75,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$2,504,250. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. Also, insider Thierry Chaumont sold 4,110 shares of BCE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$33.59, for a total value of C$138,054.90. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,255 shares of company stock valued at $376,464. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

About BCE

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.