Zacks Research Comments on BCE Inc.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of BCE in a research report issued on Wednesday, May 22nd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.57 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.59. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.22 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for BCE’s Q3 2024 earnings at $0.57 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.53 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.20 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.56 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.58 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.60 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.28 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.57 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.42 EPS.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. BCE had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 7.53%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion.

Several 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 note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Argus cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research 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. Finally, TD Securities lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $33.80 on Thursday. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $31.82 and a fifty-two week high of $46.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.44 and its 200-day moving average is $37.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of BCE by 400.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,570,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,857,340 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,284,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $168,736,000 after acquiring an additional 2,708,625 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter worth about $97,874,000. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in BCE by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 14,007,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $551,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217,262 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,840,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.738 dividend. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 204.86%.

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.