Scotiabank Issues Pessimistic Forecast for BCE Earnings

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Scotiabank decreased their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for BCE in a report released 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 previous estimate 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) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS 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%.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of BCE from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $21.36 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.30. The firm has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.53. BCE has a 1 year low of $18.68 and a 1 year high of $26.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Hedge Funds 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 shares of BCE in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in BCE by 99.3% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the period. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new stake in BCE during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in BCE by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in BCE by 74.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of C$0.44 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.11%.

BCE Company Profile

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.