Desjardins Has Pessimistic View of BCE FY2024 Earnings

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities research analysts at Desjardins lowered their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of BCE in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, November 5th. Desjardins analyst J. Dubreuil now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.14 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $2.17. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.20 per share. Desjardins also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2025 earnings at $2.10 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on BCE. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of BCE from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.33.

BCE Trading Down 1.0 %

BCE stock opened at $28.84 on Wednesday. BCE has a one year low of $28.64 and a one year high of $41.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.00 and its 200 day moving average is $33.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.59.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 19.4% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 51,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 8,335 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of BCE by 2.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 495,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,228,000 after purchasing an additional 13,032 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the third quarter worth about $2,262,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in BCE during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,876,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in BCE by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 76,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,650,000 after buying an additional 3,208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% 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 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.