BCE (NYSE:BCE) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03, Zacks reports. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. BCE updated its FY 2025 guidance to 1.890-2.000 EPS.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $22.14 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.01 and a 200 day moving average of $29.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $20.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 184.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. BCE has a 12 month low of $21.87 and a 12 month high of $38.70.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,350.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BCE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

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.