Zacks Research Has Pessimistic View of BCE FY2024 Earnings

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lowered their FY2024 earnings estimates for BCE in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 27th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $2.19 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.20. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.14 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for BCE’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.50 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.52 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.12 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.53 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.56 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.16 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Edward Jones cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut their price target on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of BCE opened at $27.33 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $24.93 billion, a PE ratio of 390.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.54. BCE has a 12-month low of $26.45 and a 12-month high of $41.77.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.737 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.79%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 4,228.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its stake in BCE by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of BCE by 138.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 8,633 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in BCE during the third quarter worth $137,000. Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in BCE in the third quarter valued at $3,094,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in BCE by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 92,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,203,000 after buying an additional 2,146 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.