BCE said on May 4, 2023 that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.97 per share ($3.87 annualized). Previously, the company paid $0.97 per share.
Shares must be purchased before the ex-div date of June 14, 2023 to qualify for the dividend. Shareholders of record as of June 15, 2023 will receive the payment on July 17, 2023.
At the current share price of $47.60 / share, the stock's dividend yield is 8.13%.
Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 6.31%, the lowest has been 4.96%, and the highest has been 8.99%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.59 (n=237).
The current dividend yield is 3.10 standard deviations above the historical average.
Additionally, the company's dividend payout ratio is 0.96. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company's income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company's income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend - not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.
The company has not increased its dividend in the last three years.
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What is the Fund Sentiment?
There are 840 funds or institutions reporting positions in BCE. This is an increase of 22 owner(s) or 2.69% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to BCE is 0.32%, an increase of 13.49%. Total shares owned by institutions decreased in the last three months by 4.61% to 427,047K shares. 
The put/call ratio of BCE is 0.56, indicating a bullish outlook.
- For more in-depth coverage of BCE, view the free, crowd-sourced company research report on Finpedia.
Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 3.60% Upside
As of April 24, 2023, the average one-year price target for BCE is 49.32. The forecasts range from a low of 45.50 to a high of $56.61. The average price target represents an increase of 3.60% from its latest reported closing price of 47.60.
See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.
The projected annual revenue for BCE is 25,040MM. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is 3.58.
What are Other Shareholders Doing?
Royal Bank Of Canada holds 58,622K shares representing 6.43% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 77,450K shares, representing a decrease of 32.12%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in BCE by 27.74% over the last quarter.
Bank Of Montreal holds 29,909K shares representing 3.28% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 28,755K shares, representing an increase of 3.86%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in BCE by 3.53% over the last quarter.
Capital Research Global Investors holds 15,954K shares representing 1.75% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 16,664K shares, representing a decrease of 4.45%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in BCE by 7.72% over the last quarter.
National Bank Of Canada holds 15,521K shares representing 1.70% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 15,881K shares, representing a decrease of 2.32%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in BCE by 74.88% over the last quarter.
Bank Of Nova Scotia holds 14,196K shares representing 1.56% ownership of the company. In it's prior filing, the firm reported owning 13,647K shares, representing an increase of 3.87%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in BCE by 11.30% over the last quarter.
BCE Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)
BCE Inc., formerly Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., is a publicly traded Canadian holding company for Bell Canada, which includes telecommunications providers and various mass media assets under its subsidiary Bell Media Inc.
This story originally appeared on Fintel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
