FY2025 EPS Estimates for BCE Inc. Raised by National Bank Financial (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Research analysts at National Bank Financial upped their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of BCE in a report issued on Wednesday, September 18th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.26 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $2.15. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.20 per share.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BCE. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.67.

BCE Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $35.15 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.62. BCE has a 1 year low of $31.13 and a 1 year high of $41.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.58.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.19. BCE had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 171.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,284,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,736,000 after purchasing an additional 2,708,625 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its position in BCE by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 14,007,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $551,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217,262 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in BCE by 5,036.0% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,042 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in BCE by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,351,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.729 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.30%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.