Scotiabank Has Negative Estimate for BCE FY2026 Earnings

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities research analysts at Scotiabank dropped their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of BCE in a research note issued on Tuesday, July 7th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.80 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $1.93. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.90 per share.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on BCE. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.67.

BCE Stock Up 0.3%

BCE stock opened at $21.46 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.42. The company has a market capitalization of $20.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.52. BCE has a twelve month low of $20.87 and a twelve month high of $26.52.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 25.66%.BCE’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 25.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 735.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in BCE in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new position in BCE in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 1,642.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new position in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.