Analysts Set Expectations for BCE Inc.'s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE - Analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for BCE in a research report issued on Wednesday, May 22nd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.57 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.59. The consensus estimate for BCE's current full-year earnings is $2.22 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for BCE's Q3 2024 earnings at $0.57 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.53 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.20 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.56 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.58 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.60 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.28 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.57 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.42 EPS.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53. BCE had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. TD Securities lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Argus lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. CIBC raised shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.00.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock traded down $0.35 on Thursday, reaching $33.80. 1,735,839 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,424,238. BCE has a 12 month low of $31.82 and a 12 month high of $46.58. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $33.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in BCE by 239.9% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 707 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in BCE during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in BCE by 120,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.738 dividend. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. BCE's payout ratio is 204.86%.

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.