BCE cuts its dividend

Article Excerpt

BCE INC., $30.08, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares o/s: 921.8 million; Market cap: $27.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 5.8%) is cutting its quarterly dividend by 56.1%. That’s due to the current economic uncertainty and the company’s high debt load; long-term debt of $33.9 billion equals 122% of the $27.7 billion market cap. Starting with the July 2025 payment, investors will receive $0.4375 a share instead of $0.9975. The new annual rate of $1.75 still yields a solid 5.8%. Moreover, BCE now aims to pay out between 40% and 55% of free cash flow as dividends, down from its earlier range of 65% to 75%. Based on the lower rate, annual dividend payments of $1.6 billion represent about 48% of the 2025 projected free cash flow of $3.3 billion. The lower payments will also help the company fund its upcoming purchase of Ziply Fiber, which offers high-speed Internet and phone services through a fibre-optic network to residential and business customers…