Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for BCE Inc.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities researchers at Cormark issued their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for BCE in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, April 18th. Cormark analyst D. Mcfadgen anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.51 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.25 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 8.82%.

Several other brokerages have also commented on BCE. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays cut their target price on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Argus lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TD Securities lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $32.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $29.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. BCE has a 12 month low of $31.82 and a 12 month high of $48.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.84.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.742 per share. This is an increase from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.21%. BCE’s payout ratio is 174.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of BCE by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in BCE by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 31,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 48,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company increased its stake in shares of BCE by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 13,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.