Desjardins Lowers BCE (TSE:BCE) Price Target to C$41.00

Key Points

• Desjardins cut its price target on BCE to C$41.00 (from C$41.50) while maintaining a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 23.9% upside from the current price cited.
• Analyst consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a consensus target of C$37.20; shares traded near C$33.10 (down ~1.2%) with a market cap around C$30.9B.
• BCE reported solid quarterly results (EPS C$0.63, revenue C$6.17B) and a low P/E of 4.87, but carries high leverage (debt-to-equity ~179.16) and weak liquidity (current ratio 0.58), highlighting potential balance-sheet risk.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE had its target price lowered by Desjardins from C$41.50 to C$41.00 in a research report issued on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Desjardins' target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.87% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. National Bank Financial lifted their price target on shares of BCE from C$38.00 to C$39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Scotiabank raised their price target on BCE from C$39.50 to C$41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays raised BCE from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on BCE from C$33.00 to C$37.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Securities lowered BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from C$41.00 to C$37.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$37.20.

BCE Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of TSE BCE traded down C$0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$33.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,652,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,656,488. The company has a market capitalization of C$30.87 billion, a PE ratio of 4.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.33. The business's 50-day simple moving average is C$34.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$33.52. BCE has a 1-year low of C$29.17 and a 1-year high of C$36.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 179.16, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. BCE had a return on equity of 31.99% and a net margin of 26.40%.The company had revenue of C$6.17 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts predict that BCE will post 3.1120864 earnings per share for the current year.

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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