BCE (TSE:BCE) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as C$37.70 and last traded at C$37.71, with a volume of 4181923 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$38.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BCE. Cormark lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Desjardins boosted their target price on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$45.36.

BCE Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm has a market cap of C$34.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$45.47 and a 200-day moving average price of C$45.74.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.9975 per share. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.