BCE (TSE:BCE) Downgraded to Underweight Rating by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) from a neutral rating to an underweight rating in a research report report published on Friday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have C$29.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of C$35.00.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. National Bankshares dropped their target price on BCE from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Scotiabank cut their price objective on BCE from C$45.00 to C$42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on BCE from C$45.00 to C$41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of BCE from C$37.50 to C$33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on shares of BCE from C$31.00 to C$33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$40.42.

BCE Stock Down 6.2 %

TSE BCE opened at C$31.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. BCE has a 52 week low of C$31.43 and a 52 week high of C$52.01. The firm has a market capitalization of C$28.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of C$34.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$41.31.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported C$0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $0.81 EPS. On average, analysts predict that BCE will post 3.1120864 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a $0.9975 dividend. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 185.58%.

About BCE

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.