BCE Inc. to Post FY2025 Earnings of $2.26 Per Share, National Bank Financial Forecasts (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – National Bank Financial cut their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BCE in a report issued on Thursday, May 2nd. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.26 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $2.30. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.25 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 7.53%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BCE. TD Securities cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Argus lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

BCE Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $33.60 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.49. BCE has a 52-week low of $31.82 and a 52-week high of $48.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in BCE by 239.9% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in BCE in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.738 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 202.08%.

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.