Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for BCE Q1 Earnings

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Research analysts at National Bank Financial issued their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for BCE in a research report issued on Wednesday, March 26th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine expects that the utilities provider will earn $0.43 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2026 earnings at $1.86 EPS.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $22.96 on Friday. BCE has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $36.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a PE ratio of 191.29, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.59 and its 200-day moving average is $27.07.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,291.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in BCE during the third quarter worth about $262,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of BCE by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 5,925 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 6.8% during the third 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. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.