Two safety-concious blue chips to buy now

Article Excerpt

Here are two of our top safety-conscious recommendations. Both have growth ahead. Look for that to spur their share prices and your returns. BCE INC., $45.76, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 912.3 million; Market cap: $41.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 8.7%) is Canada’s largest traditional telephone service provider. It has 2.10 million residential customers in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces. BCE also has 4.34 million high-speed Internet users and 2.72 million TV subscribers. In addition, the company provides wireless services to 12.6 million users. BCE continues to benefit from strong demand for mobile phone service due to the launch of new smartphones and the expansion of its ultrafast 5G wireless networks. Even so, in the quarter ended March 31, 2024, overall revenue fell 0.7%, to $6.01 billion from $6.05 billion a year earlier. More specifically, Bell Media revenue dropped 7.1%. Note that the year-ago quarter benefited from a one-time contract adjustment related to a TV distributor…