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

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Equities researchers at National Bank Financial dropped their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BCE in a research report issued 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 previous forecast 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.

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on BCE. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on BCE from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cormark cut their price objective on BCE from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Desjardins upped their price objective on BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on BCE from C$50.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$51.00.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at C$45.88 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$47.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$46.06. BCE has a 52 week low of C$42.58 and a 52 week high of C$56.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. The stock has a market cap 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.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.998 per share. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 185.58%.

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.