Scotiabank Has Negative Forecast for BCE FY2024 Earnings

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Stock analysts at Scotiabank decreased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of BCE in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $3.06 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $3.07. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on BCE from C$37.50 to C$33.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Securities decreased their price target on BCE from C$37.00 to C$32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. National Bank Financial lowered shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of BCE from C$41.00 to C$35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$41.88.

BCE Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of TSE:BCE opened at C$33.10 on Friday. BCE has a 1 year low of C$31.99 and a 1 year high of C$56.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$36.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$42.65. The stock has a market capitalization of C$30.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.9975 per share. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 185.58%.

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.