Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, February 5, 2021

Article Excerpt

BCE INC., $55.46, Toronto symbol BCE, is a top pick for 2021. The company is Canada’s largest traditional telephone service provider. It also provides wireless services and high-speed Internet access. It owns TV and radio stations. With the April 2021 payment, BCE will raise your quarterly dividend by 5.1%. Investors will then receive $0.875 a share instead of $0.8325. The new annual rate of $3.50 yields a high 6.3%. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to hurt the wireless roaming fees BCE collects from travellers. It has also cut advertising revenue at its media businesses. However, the pandemic has spurred demand for high-speed Internet service as more people work from home and stream movies online instead of going to theatres. In the quarter ended December 31, 2020, BCE’s revenue fell 2.8%, to $6.10 billion from $6.28 billion a year earlier. That missed the consensus forecast of $6.16 billion. Earnings before unusual items fell 6.8%, to $731 million from $784 million. Due to fewer shares outstanding, per-share earnings…