Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for BCE FY2026 Earnings

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – National Bank Financial lowered their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for BCE in a research report issued on Wednesday, October 1st. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.90 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $1.92. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 8th. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Cibc World Mkts lowered BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Desjardins raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $32.50.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $23.28 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $21.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.63. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.95. BCE has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $33.85.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BCE. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 170.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,679,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $268,164,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365,253 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 99.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 14,006,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $310,682,000 after purchasing an additional 6,981,281 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 25,249,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $579,458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,697,900 shares during the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,649,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,966,000 after purchasing an additional 5,171,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,181,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $325,559,000 after purchasing an additional 4,783,232 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 437.93%.

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.