BCE (NYSE:BCE) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $2.99 to $3.15 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share 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.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.60. 2,259,640 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,339,421. BCE has a one year low of $31.82 and a one year high of $48.24. The stock has a market cap of $30.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.49.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. BCE had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 16.70%. On average, equities analysts predict that BCE will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.738 per share. This represents a $2.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 204.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of several research reports. Argus downgraded shares of BCE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. TD Securities downgraded shares of BCE from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down from $54.00) on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, CIBC raised shares of BCE from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $49.00.

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.