National Bank Financial Raises Earnings Estimates for BCE

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Analysts at National Bank Financial raised their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of BCE in a research note issued on Monday, March 10th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.77 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.

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

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE:BCE opened at $24.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 203.13, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. BCE has a 1 year low of $21.87 and a 1 year high of $36.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in BCE by 217.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.43%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 2,291.67%.

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.