Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for BCE FY2025 Earnings

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE - National Bank Financial upped their FY2025 earnings estimates for BCE in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, June 12th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.06 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $1.97. National Bank Financial currently has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE's current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The firm's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.67.

BCE Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of BCE stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $22.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,473,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,999,268. BCE has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $21.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.05. The company has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a PE ratio of 186.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.61.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a yield of 5.65%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 488.46%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC bought a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in BCE during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in BCE during the first quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

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.