BCE (TSE:BCE) Hits New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as C$36.25 and last traded at C$36.06, with a volume of 1195538 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$35.42.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 34.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on BCE from C$33.00 to C$37.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Scotiabank upped their price target on BCE from C$39.50 to C$41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a C$37.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on shares of BCE from C$38.00 to C$39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on shares of BCE from C$40.00 to C$41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$37.70.

BCE Stock Up 0.6%

The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$34.77 and a 200-day moving average price of C$33.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 179.16, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of C$33.23 billion, a PE ratio of 5.25, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.38.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 6th. The company reported C$0.69 earnings per share 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$6.40 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that BCE Inc. will post 3.1120864 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about BCE

Here are the key news stories impacting BCE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Independent valuation piece highlights that BCE shares show recent momentum and trade at only a modest discount to fair value, supporting the case for further upside as investors reprice the stock. A Look At BCE Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: TD Securities raised its price target to C$41.00 and maintains a Buy — the move signals confidence in earnings/resilience and adds buy‑side momentum. TD Securities Raise (BayStreet.CA)
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank bumped its target to C$41.00 and keeps an Outperform rating, reinforcing the analyst consensus for roughly ~15% upside versus current levels. Scotiabank Raise (BayStreet.CA)
• Positive Sentiment: Desjardins raised its target to C$42.00 and rates the stock Buy, the most bullish of the recent notes and a likely contributor to investor interest. Desjardins Raise (BayStreet.CA)
• Positive Sentiment: RBC raised its target to C$39.00 and keeps an Outperform — an incremental upgrade that adds to the overall positive analyst tone. RBC Raise (BayStreet.CA) RBC Note (TickerReport)
• Negative Sentiment: Balance‑sheet metrics remain a watch item: BCE’s debt‑to‑equity is high (≈179), and current/quick ratios are below 1. Elevated leverage could limit flexibility and is a potential downside risk if macro or interest‑rate conditions worsen. BCE Financials (MarketBeat)

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.