Desjardins Has Strong Estimate for BCE FY2026 Earnings

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Investment analysts at Desjardins increased their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of BCE in a report released on Thursday, August 7th. Desjardins analyst J. Dubreuil now expects that the utilities provider will earn $2.02 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $2.01. Desjardins has a “Moderate Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.06). BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%. The company had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BCE. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank upgraded shares of BCE from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.67.

BCE Stock Up 0.0%

BCE stock opened at $24.36 on Monday. BCE has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.99, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.81.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 565.0%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 437.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in shares of BCE by 27.6% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,627,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,755,000 after purchasing an additional 352,151 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE in the second quarter valued at approximately $717,000. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of BCE by 8.6% in the second quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 5,647,934 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $125,004,000 after purchasing an additional 445,680 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE in the second quarter valued at approximately $852,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of BCE by 1.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 46,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

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.