BCE Inc. to Post FY2025 Earnings of $2.26 Per Share, National Bank Financial Forecasts (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Analysts at National Bank Financial dropped their FY2025 EPS estimates for BCE in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, May 2nd. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.26 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.30. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.25 per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on BCE. Argus cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. CIBC raised shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. TD Securities cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $33.60 on Monday. BCE has a 52-week low of $31.82 and a 52-week high of $48.24. The stock has a market cap of $30.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.49.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.738 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.79%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 202.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in BCE by 239.9% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.