BCE FY2025 EPS Estimate Boosted by National Bank Financial

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – National Bank Financial raised their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for BCE in a note issued to investors on Thursday, June 12th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.06 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $1.97. National Bank Financial currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on BCE. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of BCE from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.67.

BCE Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $22.81 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.77 and its 200 day moving average is $23.05. BCE has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $36.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market cap of $21.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 190.08, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.61.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.92 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. BCE’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in BCE by 623.9% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,398,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $217,573,000 after acquiring an additional 8,100,000 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 170.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,679,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $268,164,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365,253 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of BCE by 36.1% during the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 25,249,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $579,458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,697,900 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec boosted its position in shares of BCE by 94.4% during the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,649,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,966,000 after purchasing an additional 5,171,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth $87,643,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 488.46%.

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.