BCE FY2024 EPS Estimate Reduced by National Bank Financial

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Research analysts at National Bank Financial dropped their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of BCE in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, November 7th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now forecasts that the company will earn $2.89 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $2.98. National Bank Financial has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2025 earnings at $2.63 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on BCE. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$41.00 in a research note on Monday. TD Securities cut their price objective on BCE from C$43.00 to C$39.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Cormark dropped their target price on shares of BCE from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$45.36.

BCE Price Performance

BCE opened at C$38.60 on Monday. BCE has a 1 year low of C$37.81 and a 1 year high of C$56.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$45.83. The firm has a market cap of C$35.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.9975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.34%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 185.58%.

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.