01:37 PM EDT, 03/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Moody's on Thursday changed the outlook on Bell Canada and its parent, BCE (BCE.TO), to negative from stable.

Also, the rating agency affirmed Bell Canada's Baa1 issuer rating, Baa1 senior unsecured/backed senior unsecured notes ratings, P(Baa1) backed senior unsecured shelf and backed senior unsecured MTN program ratings, Baa2 subordinated ratings, (P)Baa2 backed subordinated shelf rating, and Prime-2 backed commercial paper rating.

Moody's also affirmed BCE's Baa2 issuer rating.

"The outlook change to negative reflects Bell Canada's elevated financial leverage and Moody's expectation that it will remain above 3x over the next 12-18 months", Peter Adu, Moody's vice president and senior credit officer, said.

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