BCE (TSE:BCE) Given New C$44.00 Price Target at TD

Key Points

• TD raised its BCE price target from C$40 to C$44 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 58.27% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: ten analysts rate BCE a Buy and three a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of C$37.42.
• BCE shares traded at C$27.80, near their C$26.66 one-year low, while the company reported C$0.65 quarterly EPS and C$6.18 billion in revenue in its latest results.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE had its target price increased by stock analysts at TD from C$40.00 to C$44.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, BayStreet reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. TD's price target points to a potential upside of 58.27% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on BCE from C$40.00 to C$36.50 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. National Bank Financial reduced their price target on shares of BCE from C$38.00 to C$36.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of BCE from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from C$31.00 to C$35.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a C$32.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Desjardins dropped their target price on shares of BCE from C$43.00 to C$41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$37.42.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock traded down C$0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting C$27.80. 1,963,189 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,333,367. BCE has a 1-year low of C$26.66 and a 1-year high of C$36.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of C$30.26 and a 200 day moving average of C$32.58. The company has a market capitalization of C$25.92 billion, a PE ratio of 4.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.37.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported C$0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$6.18 billion during the quarter. BCE had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 27.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BCE will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BCE

In other BCE news, Director Louis Vachon purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$30.63 per share, with a total value of C$306,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$3,063,000. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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