Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook for BCE FY2024 Earnings

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Zacks Research cut their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BCE in a report issued on Wednesday, November 27th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.19 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.20. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.14 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for BCE’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.50 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.52 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.12 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.53 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.56 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.16 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BCE. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial lowered shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $27.05 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 386.29, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. BCE has a twelve month low of $26.45 and a twelve month high of $41.77.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in BCE by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of BCE by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,932,000 after purchasing an additional 21,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,379,000 after purchasing an additional 186,659 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.90%. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,214.29%.

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.