Brokers Offer Predictions for BCE Inc.'s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE - Analysts at National Bank Financial issued their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BCE in a research note issued on Tuesday, May 14th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.59 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for BCE's current full-year earnings is $2.22 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for BCE's Q3 2024 earnings at $0.59 EPS and Q4 2024 earnings at $0.52 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Argus downgraded BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. TD Securities downgraded shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. CIBC upgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.00.

BCE Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE BCE traded down $0.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $34.34. 1,275,464 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,460,636. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $31.82 and a fifty-two week high of $47.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $33.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.30.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 15,933,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $643,159,000 after buying an additional 221,174 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in BCE by 4.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 15,198,064 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $580,173,000 after acquiring an additional 661,255 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of BCE by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,725,614 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $500,376,000 after acquiring an additional 80,879 shares during the period. FIL Ltd increased its stake in shares of BCE by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 14,007,515 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $551,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 11,151,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $441,217,000 after purchasing an additional 435,681 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.738 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 202.08%.

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.