BCE FY2026 EPS Estimate Raised by National Bank Financial

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Research analysts at National Bank Financial boosted their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of BCE in a research report issued on Monday, March 10th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now expects that the utilities provider will earn $1.77 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $1.68. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on BCE. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Bank of America cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

BCE Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of BCE opened at $24.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 206.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. BCE has a 12-month low of $21.87 and a 12-month high of $36.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 2,291.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FIL Ltd lifted its position in shares of BCE by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 26,292,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $609,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,322,474 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in BCE by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 19,945,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,262,000 after acquiring an additional 3,624,953 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 4.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of BCE by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 18,551,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $429,796,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in BCE by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,878,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $368,073,000 after buying an additional 411,911 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

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.