BCE (NYSE:BCE) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03, Zacks reports. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. BCE updated its FY 2025 guidance to 1.890-2.000 EPS.

BCE Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of BCE stock opened at $22.14 on Friday. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $38.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $20.20 billion, a PE ratio of 184.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.58%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 2,350.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on BCE. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Edward Jones downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

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.