Two telecoms for safety-conscious investors

Article Excerpt

Here are two of our top safety-conscious utility recommendations. Both have strong growth plans in place; that should boost their cash flow to pay for dividend increases and, at the same time, spur their share prices. BCE INC., $63.64, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares o/s: 911.8 million; Market cap: $58.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Divd. yield: 5.8%) is Canada’s largest traditional telephone service provider. It also offers wireless services and high-speed Internet access. That’s in addition to owning TV and radio stations. BCE continues to benefit from strong demand for new mobile phones and high-speed Internet services. As well, the return of live sports continues to boost advertising revenue at its media operations. Those gains offset lower sales of wireless and other equipment to businesses. In the quarter ended June 30, 2022, overall revenue rose 2.9%, to $5.86 billion from $5.70 billion a year earlier. Notably, wireless revenue rose 5.2%, to $2.24 billion from $2.13 billion. That was due to a..