Brokers Set Expectations for BCE’s Q1 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities research analysts at Desjardins issued their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for BCE in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, February 6th. Desjardins analyst J. Dubreuil expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.43 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.00 per share. Desjardins also issued estimates for BCE’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.50 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.51 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.49 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.93 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.04 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.10 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on BCE. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.50.

BCE Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $22.52 on Monday. BCE has a 1 year low of $21.87 and a 1 year high of $38.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 187.63, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in BCE by 217.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.37%. BCE’s payout ratio is 2,350.00%.

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.