Equities Analysts Set Expectations for BCE FY2024 Earnings

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Equities researchers at Desjardins reduced their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of BCE in a research note issued on Thursday, November 7th. Desjardins analyst J. Dubreuil now forecasts that the company will earn $2.94 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $2.97. Desjardins has a “Hold” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share. Desjardins also issued estimates for BCE’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.69 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.82 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from C$43.00 to C$39.00 in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on BCE from C$50.50 to C$47.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$41.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of BCE from C$47.00 to C$41.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$45.36.

BCE Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of TSE:BCE opened at C$38.60 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$45.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. The firm has a market cap of C$35.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. BCE has a twelve month low of C$37.81 and a twelve month high of C$56.18.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.9975 dividend. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 185.58%.

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.