Analysts Issue Forecasts for BCE Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Stock analysts at National Bank Financial issued their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for BCE in a report released on Monday, September 30th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $0.56 per share for the quarter. National Bank Financial currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.20 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2025 earnings at $2.23 EPS.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 8.39%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.67.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $33.71 on Thursday. BCE has a 52 week low of $31.13 and a 52 week high of $41.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.76. The company has a market cap of $30.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of BCE by 4.9% during the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of BCE by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 11,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in BCE by 9.2% during the first quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 6,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.729 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.65%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 204.86%.

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.