Research Analysts Issue Forecasts for BCE FY2026 Earnings

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Investment analysts at National Bank Financial cut their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for BCE in a research note issued on Thursday, January 2nd. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.67 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $1.92. National Bank Financial has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $2.14 per share.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut their price target on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $23.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.28. BCE has a 12 month low of $22.18 and a 12 month high of $41.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 340.29, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in BCE by 3,355.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798,427 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of BCE by 5,036.0% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,842,000 after buying an additional 1,328,042 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 48.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,877,000 after buying an additional 1,166,800 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in BCE by 12.0% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $273,553,000 after acquiring an additional 905,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in BCE by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after acquiring an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.737 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.38%. This is a boost from BCE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4,214.29%.

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.