BCE Inc. (BCE.TO)

Sold MLSE sports, bought a cable provider in the US. As late as Christmas, management was adamant that dividend would not be cut. The business is very difficult as a legacy communications company. Have to rely on mobile subscriptions. Competition's not getting easier. Stock's moved up, perhaps buyers are excited about it again. Yield is 6%.

The expectation is for a dividend cut of nearly 50% starting this month. We'll see if that happens. Technically, shares are having a rough go below both the 200-day and 200-week MAs. Earnings growth is sub-standard, even negative.

So, no, he wouldn't add at this stage. At some point, things could turn around a little bit.  Yield is 13.3% (would still be attractive even with a 50% cut). If you own, you can hold.

7% in one stock is way too overweight. Expects to see a haircut on the dividend. Management hasn't been making the best decisions over the last year or two. He's been in this name since mid-$40s, not happy, but hasn't exited.

Instead, use ZWU.

Cashflow does not cover dividend, and that's why there's talk of cutting it. Personally, he feels they'll never cut it, since most people who own it are looking for dividends. Better opportunities elsewhere.

No issue with defaulting on bonds from any of the big 3 telcos. For the equity side: not a lot of growth, price competition, CRTC always making new rules. 

Everybody has baked in a 50% dividend cut, but you will still receive a pretty good yield. Long term, the fundamentals work for the telcos, but this could take years. Meanwhile, collect the dividends.

Most people want to diversify. Temptation is there -- fat dividend, company will be around for years and years. He expects a dividend cut of 50-55%, DRIP may be stopped, more asset sales. Balance sheet and population growth have not been in its favour. Buy only a little bit down here ~$29.

His view is that if BCE starts aggressive measures to right the ship, the stock will actually rally.

Challenged sector for several years, mainly since interest rates started rising. Bond proxies that are pretty compelling when there's financial repression as we had from 2008-2022. You have to pick your spots. Likes Telus, but not the rest.

Pretty much a certainty that BCE will cut its dividend; it's more a question of when and by how much. Yield is now up to 13%; a screaming red flag from the market telling you that dividend is not sustainable. 

Relatively high yield. Defensive sector. Elevated payout ratio, rising debt, and weak growth outlook present too many risks. Hasn't done that poorly this year. 12-month price target of $34.75. If you're concerned, you could sell 1/4 or 1/3 as a sacrificial lamb.

Troubled. The business is becoming more and more competitive. Can't cover the dividend. Company claims that when massive fibre build is complete, dividend will be covered; most investors don't believe that. If dividend were cut, stock would go up. Yield is 12%.

He's a more aggressive investor than the rest of his team. He'd say it's a speculative buy now; BCE is not going away.

Dirt cheap. Multiple is ~10-10.5x PE. Market's lost confidence. FCF generated is roughly in line with the dividend, but looks undercovered relative to earnings. If dividend were to get cut, would be a positive catalyst. US acquisition will suck cashflow.

People own it for the dividend, not for growth. Cash cow. If management retrenches, there's a path to getting a better multiple. Very little downside. Buy here if you want income.

He actually likes both. Looking at price action over the last few days, these names have held up rather well. Sector's bottomed out. Both names have high dividend yields, tremendous FCF, lots of opportunity going forward to buy back stock. Worst is over for the sector, phenomenal opportunity.

With BCE, you should anticipate a dividend cut; this would be fine with him, as it will free up $$ to reduce debt and possibly buy back stock. If that happens, it would be a positive rather than causing the bottom to fall out of the stock. Investment community wants it to cut the dividend, reduce debt, and undertake a better allocation strategy. Still throwing off significant cashflow. Too early to say if it overpaid for the Ziply acquisition.

Telus has done better, with better growth. Invested in other things to diversify its business. 

Yield is about 12.2% right now, with talk of a cut; she thinks chance of that is greater than 50%. Institutional investors want the cut, retail investors don't. If cut, stock price would probably go up. If you have a very long time horizon, thinks you can do well. Likes its critical infrastructure.

Was doing a bit better this year, but then came off again. Stock may have reached a bottom. A bit further behind Telus in the buildout of fibre to the home. Telus announced potential sale of towers; if BCE were to do that, dividend wouldn't necessarily need to be cut.

At these levels, this whole area is a buy. Needs to cut dividend, but that could actually be a catalyst for the stock.

The most-hated stock in the past year. Everyone expects them to cut their dividend, which is under review now. The worst is probably over. It remains a regulated utility with good cash flow, which is what investors want in this market now. So, BCE can do well by default. It doesn't take much good news or rate cuts to lift this stock.