BCE ups its dividend

Article Excerpt

BCE INC., $50.42, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares o/s: 912.3 million; Market cap: $46.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 7.9%) will now cut 9% of its workforce. It’s also selling 45 of its 103 radio stations. This should cut its costs by $150 million to $200 million in 2024. Those annual savings should rise to $250 million in 2025. Meantime, BCE continues to benefit from strong demand for mobile phone service due to the launch of new smartphones and the expansion of its ultrafast 5G wireless networks. In the quarter ended December 31, 2023, BCE added 128,715 new wireless subscribers (net of cancellations) under long-term contracts. The telecom also added 55,591 (net) high-speed Internet users, as well as 23,537 (net) fibre-optic TV subscribers. The company will probably earn $3.13 a share in 2024, and the stock trades at a reasonable 16.1 times that forecast. BCE Inc. is still a buy. buy…