BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Expected to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $0.56 Per Share

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial issued their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of BCE in a report released on Monday, September 30th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.56 per share for the quarter. National Bank Financial currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.20 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2025 earnings at $2.23 EPS.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 8.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.67.

BCE Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $33.84 on Thursday. BCE has a 52-week low of $31.13 and a 52-week high of $41.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.76. The company has a market capitalization of $30.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.58.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.729 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.62%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 204.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 171.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,284,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,736,000 after buying an additional 2,708,625 shares during the period. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 18.8% during the fourth 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. AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in BCE by 5,036.0% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,042 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in BCE by 23.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $178,677,000 after buying an additional 1,061,488 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in BCE by 44.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,351,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,599,000 after buying an additional 1,033,134 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.