National Bank Financial Lowers Earnings Estimates for BCE

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Investment analysts at National Bank Financial decreased their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of BCE in a report released on Thursday, December 12th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.82 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $1.89. National Bank Financial currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.14 per share.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Monday. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Edward Jones downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE opened at $23.60 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $29.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 337.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. BCE has a 12-month low of $23.38 and a 12-month high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.49%. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,214.29%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in BCE by 4.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,553,000 after buying an additional 905,857 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of BCE by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after buying an additional 1,061,488 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in BCE by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,068,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,932,000 after buying an additional 21,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in BCE by 5.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,564,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,379,000 after acquiring an additional 186,659 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.