BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Forecasted to Earn Q2 2024 Earnings of $0.59 Per Share

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities researchers at National Bank Financial issued their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for BCE in a research note issued on Tuesday, May 14th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.59 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.22 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for BCE’s Q3 2024 earnings at $0.59 EPS and Q4 2024 earnings at $0.52 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. TD Securities lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Argus downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, CIBC raised shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $34.35 on Thursday. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $31.82 and a fifty-two week high of $47.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.26.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 363,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,919,000 after acquiring an additional 95,824 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in BCE by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 248,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,758 shares during the period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 48,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,833,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of BCE by 11.3% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,065 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.738 dividend. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 204.86%.

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.