Scotiabank Estimates BCE's FY2027 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

Key Points

• Scotiabank trimmed its FY2027 EPS forecast for BCE to $1.85 from $1.86, below the $1.90 consensus estimate, while maintaining an “Outperform” rating.
• BCE reported quarterly EPS of $0.53, beating analysts’ $0.49 estimate by $0.04. Analysts overall have a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $29 average price target.
• BCE announced a quarterly dividend of C$0.44 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 8.2%.

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE - Stock analysts at Scotiabank lowered their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of BCE in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 11th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.85 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $1.86. Scotiabank has an "Outperform" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE's current full-year earnings is $1.90 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.04. BCE had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 9.76%.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of BCE from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of BCE from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $21.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's fifty day moving average is $21.06 and its 200 day moving average is $23.30. BCE has a 52 week low of $18.68 and a 52 week high of $26.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of BCE by 99.3% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 1,363 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 16.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,787 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the first quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 74.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a C$0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 68.11%.

About BCE

BCE Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company best known for its Bell brand. Through Bell Canada and related businesses, it provides wireless and wireline telecommunications services, including mobile, internet, television and landline phone services to residential and business customers. BCE also operates Bell Media, which produces and distributes television, radio and digital content, including news, entertainment and sports programming. The company traces its roots to the Bell Telephone Company of Canada, established in 1880, and primarily serves customers across Canada.

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