Scotiabank Issues Pessimistic Forecast for BCE Earnings

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Investment analysts at Scotiabank lowered their FY2024 earnings estimates for BCE in a research note issued on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $3.06 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $3.07. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on BCE. TD Securities lowered their target price on BCE from C$37.00 to C$32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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. National Bankshares cut their target price on shares of BCE from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of BCE from C$41.00 to C$35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$41.88.

BCE Stock Performance

TSE BCE opened at C$33.10 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$36.24 and a 200 day moving average price of C$42.66. The company has a market capitalization of C$30.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. BCE has a 1-year low of C$31.99 and a 1-year high of C$56.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.9975 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a 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.