Zacks Research Issues Positive Estimate for BCE Earnings

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for BCE in a report issued on Wednesday, November 27th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $0.74 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.72. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for BCE’s Q1 2025 earnings at $0.68 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.71 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.90 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.73 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.77 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.95 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of BCE from C$47.00 to C$41.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from C$47.00 to C$45.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$45.00 to C$42.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$44.86.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE opened at C$37.90 on Monday. BCE has a one year low of C$36.95 and a one year high of C$56.18. The firm has a market cap of C$34.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$43.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.9975 dividend. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.53%. 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.