BCE Inc. Forecasted to Post FY2025 Earnings of $2.26 Per Share (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – National Bank Financial boosted their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BCE in a report issued on Wednesday, September 18th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.26 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.15. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.20 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 8.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share.

BCE has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.67.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE:BCE opened at $35.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $31.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. BCE has a 12 month low of $31.13 and a 12 month high of $41.77.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of BCE by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the first quarter worth $31,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of BCE by 3,480.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 60.0% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.729 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.32%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 204.86%.

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.