FY2024 EPS Estimates for BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) Reduced by National Bank Financial

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – National Bank Financial decreased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for BCE in a report released on Monday, September 30th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now expects that the company will post earnings of $2.98 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $3.02. National Bank Financial has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.06 per share.

A number of other research firms have also commented on BCE. Desjardins lifted their target price on BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. National Bankshares lowered BCE from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from C$52.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Cormark cut their price objective on BCE from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Securities cut their price objective on BCE from C$51.00 to C$50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$51.00.

BCE Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of TSE:BCE opened at C$45.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$41.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$47.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$46.06. BCE has a 12-month low of C$42.58 and a 12-month high of C$56.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.80 by C($0.02). The company had revenue of C$6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$6.07 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.63%.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.998 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.70%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 185.58%.

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.