Brokers Offer Predictions for BCE Inc.’s FY2025 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities researchers at National Bank Financial lowered their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of BCE in a research report issued on Thursday, May 2nd. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $2.26 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.30. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.25 per share.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Argus lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, CIBC upgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $33.46 on Monday. BCE has a 52 week low of $31.82 and a 52 week high of $48.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. BCE had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in BCE by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 239.9% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.738 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.82%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 204.86%.

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.