BCE Inc. to Post FY2024 Earnings of $2.21 Per Share, National Bank Financial Forecasts (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Stock analysts at National Bank Financial upped their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BCE in a note issued to investors on Monday, September 30th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.21 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.17. National Bank Financial has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.20 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BCE. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Cibc World Mkts raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.67.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $34.84 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $34.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. BCE has a 52 week low of $31.13 and a 52 week high of $41.77.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BCE. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its stake in BCE by 60.0% during 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. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.729 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. 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.