Desjardins Issues Pessimistic Estimate for BCE Earnings

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Desjardins decreased their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of BCE in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, November 7th. Desjardins analyst J. Dubreuil now expects that the company will earn $2.94 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $2.97. Desjardins has a “Hold” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share. Desjardins also issued estimates for BCE’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.69 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.82 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on BCE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on BCE from C$47.00 to C$41.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Securities reduced their price objective on BCE from C$43.00 to C$39.00 in a research note on Monday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$41.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of BCE from C$50.50 to C$47.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$45.36.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$38.60 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. BCE has a 1 year low of C$37.81 and a 1 year high of C$56.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$45.83. The firm has a market cap of C$35.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.9975 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.34%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 185.58%.

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.