Brokers Offer Predictions for BCE Inc.’s Q4 2023 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Desjardins reduced their Q4 2023 EPS estimates for BCE in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, November 3rd. Desjardins analyst J. Dubreuil now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $0.48 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.53. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.47 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). BCE had a net margin of 9.68% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.55 billion.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a “sector perform overweight” rating to an “outperform overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BCE from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 7th. TD Securities downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of BCE from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.43.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $39.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $36.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.90. BCE has a 1 year low of $36.15 and a 1 year high of $48.38.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.6969 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.99%. BCE’s payout ratio is 151.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 88.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.30% of the company’s stock.

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 three segments: Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline, and Bell Media. The Bell Wireless segment offers integrated digital wireless voice and data communication products and services, as well as consumer electronics products.