BCE (NYSE:BCE) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $2.99 to $3.15 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $2.23. The company issued revenue guidance of $24.67 billion to $25.66 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $18.21 billion.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE:BCE traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,259,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,339,421. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.61. BCE has a 12 month low of $31.82 and a 12 month high of $48.24.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BCE will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.738 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.79%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 204.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BCE shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. CIBC upgraded shares of BCE from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. TD Securities downgraded shares of BCE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of BCE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $49.00.

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.