bce
BCE Inc., an abbreviation of its former name 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. Founded through a corporate reorganization in 1983, when Bell Canada, Northern Telecom, and other related companies all became subsidiaries of Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., it is one of Canada’s largest corporations. The company is headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the Verdun borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
BCE Inc. is a component of the S&P/TSX 60 and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the American-based New York Stock Exchange.
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TELUS CORP., $33.31, Toronto symbol T, rose 3% this week on news that U.S.-based Verizon Communications (New York symbol VZ) is buying the 45% of Verizon Wireless that it does not already own from U.K.-based Vodafone Group (Nasdaq symbol VOD). Verizon is a recommendation of Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that focuses on U.S. stocks. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture that sells wireless services to 100.1 million subscribers in the U.S. Verizon is paying $130 billion U.S. for Vodafone’s stake, which is just below its $132.6-billion U.S. market cap (or the total value of all its outstanding shares). Shares of Telus fell from their recent peak of $37.94 on May 22, 2013, to $29.52 on June 27 on fears that Verizon would buy two smaller Canadian wireless carriers, Mobilicity and Wind Mobile, and bid on new wireless frequencies, or spectrum. However, in the wake of the Vodafone deal, Verizon announced that it would not enter Canada’s wireless market at this time....
BELL ALIANT INC. $26.76 (Toronto symbol BA; Shares outstanding: 227.8 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 7.1%; www.aliant.ca) sells telephone services and Internet access to 2.4 million customers in Atlantic Canada and rural parts of Ontario and Quebec....
BCE INC. $44.58 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 775.9 million; Market cap: $34.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 5.2%; www.bce.ca) has gained in response to U.S.-based Verizon Communications’ (New York symbol VZ) announcement that it will not enter the Canadian wireless market right now (see box below).
BCE is Canada’s second-largest wireless carrier, with 7.72 million subscribers....
BCE is Canada’s second-largest wireless carrier, with 7.72 million subscribers....
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, $64.90, Toronto symbol RY, reported that its earnings rose 11.9% in the three months ended July 31, 2013, to $2.2 billion from $2.0 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 13.2%, to $1.46 from $1.29, on fewer shares outstanding. These figures exclude unusual items, such as a $90-million tax refund in the latest quarter. On that basis, Royal’s earnings beat the consensus forecast of $1.38 a share. However, the bank was forced to write down the value of certain securities it holds, which cut its revenue by 6.9%, to $7.2 billion from $7.8 billion. The bank continues to see strong loan demand at its retail banking operations in Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean. This division’s earnings, which accounted for 57% of Royal’s total, rose 7.1%....
BELL ALIANT INC. $27 (Toronto symbol BA, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 229.1 million; Market cap: $6.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 7.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.bellaliant.ca) sells telephone and Internet services to 2.4 million customers in Atlantic Canada and rural parts of Ontario and Quebec. It also sells wireless services through an alliance with BCE (see left).
The company continues to replace its copper-wire cables with fibre optic lines. That’s letting it sell more high-speed Internet and digital TV services, which is offsetting falling demand for land lines. (Traditional phones still supply 52% of its overall revenue.)
In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Bell Aliant’s revenue rose 0.6%, to $691.8 million from $687.7 million a year ago. Earnings fell 10.8%, to $0.66 a share from $0.74. If you exclude a charge related to an early debt repayment and other unusual items, per-share earnings would have fallen 4.9%, to $0.39 from $0.41.
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The company continues to replace its copper-wire cables with fibre optic lines. That’s letting it sell more high-speed Internet and digital TV services, which is offsetting falling demand for land lines. (Traditional phones still supply 52% of its overall revenue.)
In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Bell Aliant’s revenue rose 0.6%, to $691.8 million from $687.7 million a year ago. Earnings fell 10.8%, to $0.66 a share from $0.74. If you exclude a charge related to an early debt repayment and other unusual items, per-share earnings would have fallen 4.9%, to $0.39 from $0.41.
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BCE INC. $42.55 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 775.9 million; Market cap: $33.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.5%; www.bce.ca) has completed its $3.2-billion purchase of Astral Media.
Astral owns 22 TV stations, 84 radio stations and several pay TV and specialty channels, such as the Movie Network, Family Channel and Teletoon.
To win approval for the takeover, BCE agreed to sell several of Astral’s specialty TV channels and radio stations. Still, the new operations should immediately add to the company’s earnings.
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Astral owns 22 TV stations, 84 radio stations and several pay TV and specialty channels, such as the Movie Network, Family Channel and Teletoon.
To win approval for the takeover, BCE agreed to sell several of Astral’s specialty TV channels and radio stations. Still, the new operations should immediately add to the company’s earnings.
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ISHARES DOW JONES CANADA SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX FUND $22.31 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highest-yielding Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of its assets. The fund’s MER is 0.50%. It yields 4.5%.
The fund’s top holdings are Bonterra Energy, 6.5%; CIBC, 6.3%; National Bank, 5.9%; TD Bank, 5.7%; Bank of Montreal, 5.3%; Royal Bank, 4.5%; IGM Financial, 4.4%; Telus Corp., 4.2%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 4.1%; and BCE Inc., 4.0%.
The fund holds 53.4% of its assets in financial stocks. The top Canadian finance stocks have sound prospects. However, if you invest in this ETF, be sure to adjust the rest of your portfolio so it won’t be overly concentrated in the financial sector.
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The fund’s top holdings are Bonterra Energy, 6.5%; CIBC, 6.3%; National Bank, 5.9%; TD Bank, 5.7%; Bank of Montreal, 5.3%; Royal Bank, 4.5%; IGM Financial, 4.4%; Telus Corp., 4.2%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 4.1%; and BCE Inc., 4.0%.
The fund holds 53.4% of its assets in financial stocks. The top Canadian finance stocks have sound prospects. However, if you invest in this ETF, be sure to adjust the rest of your portfolio so it won’t be overly concentrated in the financial sector.
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ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX FUND $17.88 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) is a good low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units are made up of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index, which consists of the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. Expenses are just 0.17% of assets.
The index mostly consists of high-quality companies. However, it must ensure that all sectors are represented, so it holds a few we wouldn’t include.
The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 8.2%; TD Bank, 7.1%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 6.2%; Suncor Energy, 4.5%; CN Railway, 3.9%; Bank of Montreal, 3.7%; Enbridge, 3.4%; Canadian Natural Resources, 3.2%; TransCanada Corporation, 3.0%; Manulife Financial, 3.0%; BCE, 2.9%; CIBC, 2.8%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 2.8%; Potash Corp., 2.3%; Cenovus Energy, 2.0%; and Goldcorp, 2.0%.
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The index mostly consists of high-quality companies. However, it must ensure that all sectors are represented, so it holds a few we wouldn’t include.
The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 8.2%; TD Bank, 7.1%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 6.2%; Suncor Energy, 4.5%; CN Railway, 3.9%; Bank of Montreal, 3.7%; Enbridge, 3.4%; Canadian Natural Resources, 3.2%; TransCanada Corporation, 3.0%; Manulife Financial, 3.0%; BCE, 2.9%; CIBC, 2.8%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 2.8%; Potash Corp., 2.3%; Cenovus Energy, 2.0%; and Goldcorp, 2.0%.
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The possibility of U.S.-based Verizon Communications entering the Canadian wireless market has hurt BCE’s shares. (Verizon is a recommendation of Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that focuses on U.S. stocks.) However, BCE’s strategy of selling bundles of services—wireless, regular phone, Internet and TV—under long-term contracts should help it hang on to its customers.
BCE INC....
BCE INC....
BELL ALIANT INC. $27 (Toronto symbol BA, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 229.1 million; Market cap: $6.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 7.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.bellaliant.ca) sells telephone and Internet services to 2.4 million customers in Atlantic Canada and rural parts of Ontario and Quebec....