BCE (BCE) to Release Earnings on Thursday

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) will be releasing its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, August 1st. Analysts expect BCE to post earnings of C$0.80 per share for the quarter.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported C$0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of C$0.72. BCE had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 9.36%. The company had revenue of C$6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$6.09 billion.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$46.48 on Wednesday. BCE has a one year low of C$42.58 and a one year high of C$58.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is C$45.31 and its 200 day moving average is C$47.45. The company has a market capitalization of C$42.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 184.91, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.61.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.998 per share. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 207.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BCE shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of BCE from C$52.00 to C$48.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of BCE from C$46.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from C$47.00 to C$46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Cormark lowered their price objective on shares of BCE from C$58.00 to C$53.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$51.38.

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.