BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Forecasted to Post Q1 2024 Earnings of $0.51 Per Share

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities researchers at Cormark issued their Q1 2024 earnings estimates for shares of BCE in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, April 18th. Cormark analyst D. Mcfadgen forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.51 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.25 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 8.82%.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Securities cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.00.

BCE Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $32.60 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.65. BCE has a 52-week low of $31.82 and a 52-week high of $48.38. The company has a market capitalization of $29.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.56.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCE. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its position in BCE by 26.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 31,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of BCE by 0.6% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 48,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 1.9% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company boosted its position in BCE by 2.3% in the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 13,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.742 dividend. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 174.56%.

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.