Fewer shares should boost BCE

Article Excerpt

BCE INC. $30 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 767.2 million; Market cap: $23.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 5.8%; SI Rating: Above Average) is buying back 20 million, or about 3%, of its outstanding shares this year. Share buybacks raise earnings per share and other per-share calculations. Buybacks like this typically occur in small amounts over a year. However, BCE recently bought four million shares at market prices from a private seller, instead of through a stock exchange. It will count these shares toward its target of 20 million. BCE is a buy. buy…