
TSE:BCE
Everyone is using their cell phones, bills are going higher and demand for the products is growing. Telcos have had a very nice run but he continues to be attracted to them. Valuations are much cheaper than the pipelines and utilities. Dividend growth is still strong. Earnings growth will not be gangbusters but still growing.
Have held this for a long time with good gains. Should I consider selling some and buying back at a lower price? If you are a long-term investor, especially if you have bought this at much lower levels, not sure how clever it is to sell some as you pay a capital gains and you have to try and replace the yield.
For this company and most telco operators, you should fixate on capital intensity ratio, which for most Canadian telcos are reasonable. This is a very good company and you are probably going to get a lot more dividend growth out of it. His concern is with long-term growth challenges as there continues to be a secular decline in the wireline business. Trading at 7X EBITDA and you can get global telecoms trading at a sizable discount with much higher yield and more capital appreciation potential.
Is this range bound? If so what are the lower and upper ranges? Are there any catalysts in the foreseeable future that will propel it higher? Looking at the chart, he would say it is not range bound at all but is really a long term hold. Dividend yield of over 5%. Prefers Telus (T-T) which has gotten approval to change its non-voting shares for common shares on a one to one basis.
Wire line business did poorly and he thinks this will change as IPTV rolls out and the footprint will get to about 68%. Wireless and media did very, very well in the last quarter and will continue to do well. Expects there will be more clarity in February, which is their 4th quarter. Fairly valued and there is some opportunity for it to go slightly higher. Doesn’t think the NHL lockout affects them that much.
Market performer from here. Can participate in broadband and the use of personal technology. They are a large company and it is hard to move the ground underneath them. A suitable stock for a portfolio but not his preferred.