BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE – Free Report) (TSE:BCE) – Analysts at Scotiabank raised their FY2026 earnings estimates for BCE in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.93 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $1.88. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.90 per share.
Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. TD Securities lowered BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Barrington Research upgraded shares of BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.67.
BCE Trading Down 0.8%
Shares of BCE opened at $24.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.74. BCE has a 52-week low of $21.09 and a 52-week high of $26.52. The firm has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $24.74 and its 200-day moving average is $24.31.
BCE (NYSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. BCE had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BCE. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 37,579,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $896,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992,000 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its stake in shares of BCE by 9.7% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 34,107,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $797,161,000 after buying an additional 3,024,110 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,020,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $429,834,000 after buying an additional 700,797 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in BCE by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,296,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,320,000 after buying an additional 160,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in BCE by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,212,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $378,981,000 after buying an additional 2,206,385 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.
BCE Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.02%.
BCE Company Profile
BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.
On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.
Recommended Stories
- Five stocks we like better than BCE
- Aeluma’s Post-Earnings Dip Creates a Buying Opportunity
- Be Ready: 3 Upcoming Catalysts Could Drive Oracle to Record Highs
- 2 Ways to Play the Big Pharma Patent Cliff
- YETI Rallies After Earnings Beat and Raised Outlook
Receive News & Ratings for BCE Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BCE and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
