BCE Inc. to Post FY2025 Earnings of $2.26 Per Share, National Bank Financial Forecasts (NYSE:BCE)

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE - Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial lifted their FY2025 EPS estimates for shares of BCE in a research note issued on Wednesday, September 18th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $2.26 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.15. The consensus estimate for BCE's current full-year earnings is $2.20 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.46 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 8.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.67.

BCE Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $35.10. 1,393,804 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,251,660. BCE has a 12-month low of $31.13 and a 12-month high of $41.77. The business's fifty day moving average is $34.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.58.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in BCE by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 659 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 2.6% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,383 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in BCE by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,727 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in BCE by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,690 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in BCE by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 11,331 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.729 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 204.86%.

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.