FY2024 Earnings Estimate for BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Issued By National Bank Financial

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial lowered their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of BCE in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, August 1st. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.17 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $2.22. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.22 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2025 earnings at $2.15 EPS.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.33.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $35.00 on Monday. BCE has a twelve month low of $31.13 and a twelve month high of $42.96. The firm has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.08 and a 200 day moving average of $34.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.729 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 202.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in BCE by 171.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,284,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $168,736,000 after purchasing an additional 2,708,625 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter valued at $97,874,000. FIL Ltd grew its position in shares of BCE by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 14,007,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $551,505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,217,262 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter valued at $85,840,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of BCE by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061,488 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc, a communications company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Bell Communication and Technology Services, and Bell Media. The Bell Communication and Technology Services segment provides wireless products and services including mobile data and voice plans and devices; wireline products and services comprising data, including internet access, internet protocol television, cloud-based services, and business solutions, as well as voice, and other communication services and products; and satellite TV and connectivity services for residential, small and medium-sized business, government, and large enterprise customers.