National Bank Financial Weighs in on BCE Inc.’s FY2025 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities researchers at National Bank Financial decreased their FY2025 earnings estimates for BCE in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, May 2nd. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.26 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $2.30. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.25 per share.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BCE. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. TD Securities lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Argus lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $33.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. BCE has a 12 month low of $31.82 and a 12 month high of $48.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.43. The company has a market cap of $30.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 7.53%.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.738 dividend. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 204.86%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in BCE by 239.9% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 120,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.