Scotiabank Weighs in on BCE’s FY2025 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Research analysts at Scotiabank decreased their FY2025 earnings estimates for BCE in a research note issued on Friday, November 28th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $1.90 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $1.95. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2026 earnings at $2.08 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $23.54 on Monday. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $27.44. The company has a market capitalization of $21.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.17, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.61.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in BCE by 735.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at $96,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,044,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of BCE by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 464,417 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,775,000 after buying an additional 5,803 shares during the period. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 2,137 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.