BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.74

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,Zacks Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.737 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73.

BCE has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.9% annually over the last three years. BCE has a payout ratio of 131.4% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect BCE to earn $2.23 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $2.89 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 129.6%.

BCE Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of BCE traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.37. The stock had a trading volume of 4,007,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,286,968. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $33.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.57. The company has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.59. BCE has a 1-year low of $27.29 and a 1-year high of $41.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. National Bank Financial lowered BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.33.

BCE Company Profile

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.