What is Scotiabank’s Forecast for BCE FY2025 Earnings?

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Research analysts at Scotiabank cut their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BCE in a research note issued on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.96 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.00. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on BCE. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

BCE Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $22.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 189.29, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.40. BCE has a 12-month low of $21.87 and a 12-month high of $36.17.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in BCE by 143.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 104,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 61,658 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $541,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in BCE during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its position in BCE by 197.0% during the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 42,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 28,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in BCE by 440.7% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 401,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,294,000 after purchasing an additional 326,894 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.26%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

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.