National Bank Financial Increases Earnings Estimates for BCE

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial upped their FY2025 earnings estimates for BCE in a report issued on Wednesday, March 26th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.95 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $1.87. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on BCE. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $22.82 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.58 and a 200-day moving average of $26.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. BCE has a twelve month low of $21.87 and a twelve month high of $36.17. The firm has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 190.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.6965 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.21%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 67.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 143.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 104,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 61,658 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter worth $541,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of BCE by 197.0% in the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 42,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 28,191 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.