BCE (BCE) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) is projected to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, February 6th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.53 per share and revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter. Persons interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

BCE Stock Up 1.0 %

BCE stock opened at $24.02 on Tuesday. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $39.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 343.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $24.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.02.

BCE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.27%. This is a positive change from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,028.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

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.