Scotiabank Analysts Decrease Earnings Estimates for BCE

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Equities research analysts at Scotiabank decreased their FY2025 EPS estimates for BCE in a research note issued on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $2.87 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $3.18. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. National Bankshares dropped their price target on BCE from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on BCE from C$37.50 to C$33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of BCE from C$41.00 to C$35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$41.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$41.88.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of TSE:BCE opened at C$33.10 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. The stock has a market cap of C$30.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$36.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$42.66. BCE has a 1-year low of C$31.99 and a 1-year high of C$56.18.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.9975 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.05%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 185.58%.

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.