BCE (BCE) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Thursday

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) will release its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts expect BCE to post earnings of $0.60 per share for the quarter. BCE has set its FY24 guidance at $2.99-3.15 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance at 2.190-2.310 EPS.Persons interested in listening to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. BCE had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. On average, analysts expect BCE to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

BCE Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE BCE opened at $33.07 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.65. BCE has a one year low of $31.82 and a one year high of $48.38. The firm has a market cap of $30.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.56.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.742 dividend. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.98%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 174.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Argus downgraded shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of BCE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

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.