Brokers Issue Forecasts for BCE’s FY2024 Earnings (TSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial upped their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of BCE in a report issued on Wednesday, December 18th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now forecasts that the company will earn $2.98 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $2.89. National Bank Financial has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share.

BCE has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Securities dropped their target price on BCE from C$39.00 to C$37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on BCE from C$41.00 to C$37.50 in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on BCE from C$47.00 to C$41.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of BCE from C$45.00 to C$41.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$43.38.

BCE Trading Down 1.5 %

TSE BCE opened at C$33.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of C$30.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is C$40.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$44.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43. BCE has a 52 week low of C$33.02 and a 52 week high of C$56.18.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.9975 per share. This represents a $3.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 185.58%.

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.