Scotiabank Issues Pessimistic Forecast for BCE Earnings

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Equities researchers at Scotiabank reduced their FY2025 EPS estimates for BCE in a research report issued on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.87 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $3.18. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities dropped their price target on BCE from C$37.00 to C$32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of BCE from C$41.00 to C$35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. National Bankshares dropped their price objective on shares of BCE from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on BCE from C$45.00 to C$41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$41.88.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$33.99 on Thursday. 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 quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of C$31.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is C$36.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$42.82.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.9975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.74%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 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.