BCE FY2026 EPS Forecast Boosted by National Bank Financial

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

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on BCE. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays restated 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, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE BCE opened at $24.36 on Wednesday. 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 has a 1-year low of $21.87 and a 1-year high of $36.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.01. The company has a market capitalization of $22.45 billion, a PE ratio of 202.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of BCE by 6.8% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in BCE by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 13,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in BCE by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.44%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,291.67%.

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.