National Bank Financial Cuts BCE (TSE:BCE) Price Target to C$36.00

Key Points

• National Bank Financial lowered BCE’s price target to C$36 from C$38 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying 27.43% upside from the prior close. Analysts overall have a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target of C$37.46.
• BCE shares fell 2.5% to C$28.25, near the company’s 12-month low of C$28.14. The stock has a market capitalization of C$26.34 billion and a high debt-to-equity ratio of 175.06.
• Director Louis Vachon purchased 10,000 BCE shares for approximately C$306,300, increasing his ownership by 11.11%; insiders collectively own 0.02% of the company.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE had its price target cut by stock analysts at National Bank Financial from C$38.00 to C$36.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, BayStreet reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. National Bank Financial's target price would suggest a potential upside of 27.43% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of BCE from C$41.00 to C$39.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Desjardins upped their price target on shares of BCE from C$41.00 to C$43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of BCE from C$39.00 to C$36.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. TD upped their price objective on shares of BCE from C$37.00 to C$40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$37.46.

BCE Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of TSE BCE traded down C$0.72 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting C$28.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,845,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,201,140. BCE has a 12-month low of C$28.14 and a 12-month high of C$36.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.06. The firm has a market cap of C$26.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50 day moving average is C$31.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$32.52.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported C$0.65 earnings per share for the quarter. BCE had a return on equity of 27.73% and a net margin of 25.89%.The business had revenue of C$6.18 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BCE will post 3.1120864 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BCE news, Director Louis Vachon acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of C$30.63 per share, with a total value of C$306,300.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$3,063,000. The trade was a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

BCE Company Profile

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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