Desjardins Brokers Decrease Earnings Estimates for BCE

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Free Report) NYSE: BCE - Analysts at Desjardins cut their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for BCE in a note issued to investors on Thursday, November 7th. Desjardins analyst J. Dubreuil now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $2.94 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $2.97. Desjardins currently has a "Hold" rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE's current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share. Desjardins also issued estimates for BCE's Q4 2024 earnings at $0.69 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.82 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on BCE. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on BCE from C$47.00 to C$45.00 in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on BCE from C$50.50 to C$47.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Cormark decreased their price target on shares of BCE from C$53.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of BCE from C$48.00 to C$51.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Ten research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$45.36.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock traded down C$0.74 during midday trading on Monday, reaching C$38.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,633,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,081,982. The company's 50 day simple moving average is C$46.00. BCE has a 1-year low of C$37.81 and a 1-year high of C$56.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 197.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of C$35.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.9975 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.30%. BCE's payout ratio is 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.