Desjardins Comments on BCE’s FY2024 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Stock analysts at Desjardins lowered their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of BCE in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, November 7th. Desjardins analyst J. Dubreuil now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.12 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $2.14. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.18 per share. Desjardins also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2025 earnings at $2.03 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BCE. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. National Bank Financial cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $27.84 on Monday. BCE has a twelve month low of $27.29 and a twelve month high of $41.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.58. The company has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 399.71, a PEG ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.59.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in BCE by 2.6% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 11,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 4.7% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 11,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.737 per share. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.59%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 4,228.57%.

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.