BCE (BCE) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Thursday

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) is set to announce its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.60 per share for the quarter. BCE has set its FY24 guidance at $2.99-3.15 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance at 2.190-2.310 EPS.Individual that wish to listen to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. On average, analysts expect BCE to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

BCE Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $33.07 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.78 and a 200-day moving average of $37.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $30.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.56. BCE has a 12 month low of $31.82 and a 12 month high of $48.38.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.742 dividend. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.98%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 174.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. CIBC raised BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Securities lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

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.