BCE (NYSE:BCE) Issues Earnings Results

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 16.88%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. BCE updated its FY 2024 guidance to 2.180-2.300 EPS.

BCE Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE BCE traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.33. 2,894,251 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,101,363. BCE has a 1-year low of $31.13 and a 1-year high of $42.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.61.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.729 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.49%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 202.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BCE shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.33.

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.