BCE (NYSE:BCE) Updates FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• BCE updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance, projecting earnings per share (EPS) between 1.910 and 1.980 and revenue between $17.6 billion and $18.0 billion.
• Despite a recent quarterly EPS of $0.48, BCE's revenue declined 1.3% year-over-year, leading to a reduced dividend payout ratio of 488.46%.
• Four analysts rated BCE stock as a sell, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and price target of $38.67, while institutional investors increased their positions by 36.8% in the first quarter.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.910-1.980 for the period. The company issued revenue guidance of $17.6 billion-$18.0 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Scotiabank raised BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Desjardins raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.67.

BCE Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE BCE traded up $0.60 on Friday, reaching $24.38. The company had a trading volume of 4,699,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,761,427. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. BCE has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $36.17. The company's fifty day moving average is $23.04 and its 200-day moving average is $22.81.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 19.18% and a net margin of 1.96%. BCE's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that BCE will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 565.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is currently 488.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

An institutional investor recently raised its position in BCE stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 64.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $71,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.