BCE (NYSE:BCE) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of $2.99 to $3.15 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $2.23. The company issued revenue guidance of $24.67 billion to $25.66 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $18.21 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BCE. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Argus cut shares of BCE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated a market perform rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down previously from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. CIBC upgraded shares of BCE from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Securities cut shares of BCE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $49.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $33.26 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company has a market capitalization of $30.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.56. BCE has a 52-week low of $31.82 and a 52-week high of $48.29.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. BCE had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 17.13%. Equities research analysts predict that BCE will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.742 dividend. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.92%. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 174.56%.

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.