Fundamentals are Solid for BCE...Look at FinancialsNot only does BCE have the lowest P/E ratio of the Big 3 Canadian Telecoms is has sold fundamentals.
Tha Armchair Critics can rant all they want about the dividend being cut, but if you read the S&P Report which just came out March 11, you'll see the Dividend is safe.
If you want first hand truth. Look at the financial statements and understand how much FCF that is being generated vs dividend payout. Most recent year the Cashflow is 7.5 billion vs 3.6B paid out for distributions. The CAP EX is another big part of this expense items that distorts “payout ratio”, as BCE builds out their next gen infrastructure. This is generally financed with debt and is amortized and treated as a depreciating asset. Payout ratio is calculated with earnings, which uses massive non cash items like depreciation expense. Just like Enbridge, their is sufficient cash flow in place to pay and increase dividends. The market is evaluating and waiting for interest rates to start declining again…
Second part. There has long been small scale competition piggy backing on their networks. With the CRTC, they set the rates accordingly but I can assure you the big three have a strangle hold on the quality of the network and own the lions share of the market. .
I’m betting strong that BCE IS back at 55-56 CAD by the end of spring... June latest