BCE FY2026 EPS Estimate Lowered by National Bank Financial

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial reduced their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for BCE in a report issued on Sunday, June 29th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.69 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $1.73. National Bank Financial has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BCE. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded BCE from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.67.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $22.70 on Wednesday. BCE has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a PE ratio of 87.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.61.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. BCE had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 1.82%. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 488.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ raised its position in BCE by 2.0% in the first quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 23,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its position in BCE by 5.2% in the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 10,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in BCE by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 13,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 7.8% in the first quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 10.3% in the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.