BCE (BCE) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) is scheduled to be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts expect BCE to post earnings of C$0.80 per share for the quarter.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported C$0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.73 by C$0.03. The business had revenue of C$6.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.48 billion. BCE had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 10.81%.

BCE Stock Down 0.4 %

BCE stock opened at C$45.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of C$41.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is C$47.21 and its 200-day moving average price is C$51.15. BCE has a one year low of C$43.96 and a one year high of C$65.66.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.998 per share. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 175.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on BCE from C$54.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Securities lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$55.00 to C$51.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from C$57.00 to C$54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Desjardins decreased their price objective on shares of BCE from C$58.00 to C$55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of BCE from C$52.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$52.48.

About BCE

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.