Scotiabank Analysts Decrease Earnings Estimates for BCE

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Stock analysts at Scotiabank decreased their FY2024 EPS estimates for BCE in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now expects that the company will post earnings of $3.06 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $3.07. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on BCE. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$41.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. National Bankshares cut their price target on shares of BCE from C$37.00 to C$35.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$41.88.

BCE Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of TSE:BCE opened at C$33.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. The company has a market capitalization of C$30.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. BCE has a 12-month low of C$31.99 and a 12-month high of C$56.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is C$36.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$42.74.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.9975 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.84%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.