Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for BCE FY2024 Earnings

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – National Bank Financial increased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BCE in a research report issued on Wednesday, December 18th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.12 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.08. National Bank Financial has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.14 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for BCE’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.52 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.91 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BCE. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. 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 note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.16 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 330.86, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. BCE has a one year low of $22.90 and a one year high of $41.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.03.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 12.0% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,553,000 after acquiring an additional 905,857 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position 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 boosted its stake in BCE by 0.4% in 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. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.737 per share. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4,214.29%.

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.