BCE (BCE) Set to Announce Earnings on Thursday

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE is set to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts expect BCE to post earnings of C$0.80 per share for the quarter.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported C$0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.73 by C$0.03. BCE had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The company had revenue of C$6.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$6.48 billion.

BCE Stock Down 0.8 %

BCE stock traded down C$0.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting C$44.92. 2,257,736 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,936,414. BCE has a 1 year low of C$43.96 and a 1 year high of C$65.66. The firm's 50 day moving average is C$47.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$51.11. The stock has a market cap of C$40.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 175.98, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were given a dividend of $0.998 per share. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.89%. This is an increase from BCE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 175.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on BCE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of BCE from C$54.00 to C$47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Cormark cut their price objective on shares of BCE from C$58.00 to C$53.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$52.00 to C$48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Desjardins lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$58.00 to C$55.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$57.00 to C$55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$52.48.

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.