Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, November 12, 2021

Article Excerpt

BCE INC., $63.91, 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, in addition to owning TV and radio stations. With the April 2021 payment, BCE raised your quarterly dividend by 5.1%. Investors now receive $0.875 a share instead of $0.8325. The new annual rate of $3.50 yields a high 5.5%. The company continues to benefit from strong demand for new mobile phones and high-speed Internet services. As well, the return of live sports has helped boost advertising revenue at its media operations. Those gains offset lower sales of wireless and other equipment to businesses. In the quarter ended September 30, 2021, revenue rose 0.8%, to $5.84 billion from $5.79 billion a year earlier. However, that fell short of the consensus forecast of $5.94 billion. Earnings before unusual items improved 5.1%, to $748 million from $712 million. Due to more shares outstanding, earnings per share gained 3.8%,…