National Bank Financial Lifts Earnings Estimates for BCE

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities researchers at National Bank Financial upped their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of BCE in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, December 18th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.12 for the year, up from their prior 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 equities research analysts have also recently commented on BCE. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.2 %

BCE opened at $23.16 on Monday. BCE has a twelve month low of $22.90 and a twelve month high of $41.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.53 and a 200-day moving average of $32.03. The stock has a market cap of $21.13 billion, a PE ratio of 330.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798,427 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 5,036.0% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,042 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 48.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of BCE by 23.8% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after buying an additional 1,061,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 905,857 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.73%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 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.