BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets on Thursday.

Analyst Tim Casey maintained a price target of $37 on shares of the Canadian media and telecom company.

"We are upgrading our rating on BCE... based on a relatively more attractive risk/reward profile," Casey said in a note to clients.

"Canadian wireless and wireline service revenue growth estimates are unchanged and imply 2% y/y growth," the analyst said.

"BCE's dividend has been de-risked with reasonable FCF payout ratios," Casey said.

"We believe the company has achievable leverage targets driven by modest growth, synergies, a declining capex profile, and small-scale asset sales."

(MT Newswires covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www.mtnewswires.com/contact-us)

Price: 32.54, Change: +0.53, Percent Change: +1.66