Desjardins Issues Negative Estimate for BCE Earnings

Key Points

• Desjardins has downgraded BCE's Q3 2025 earnings per share estimate from $0.49 to $0.48, while maintaining a "Moderate Buy" rating on the stock.
• BCE reported a miss in quarterly earningsstrong> as its $0.46 EPS fell short of the $0.52 consensus estimate, alongside a revenue of $4.47 billion against an expectation of $5.91 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4375, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 7.2%, despite a high payout ratio of 437.93%.

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE - Investment analysts at Desjardins reduced their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for BCE in a report released on Wednesday, October 15th. Desjardins analyst J. Dubreuil now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $0.48 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.49. Desjardins has a "Moderate Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE's current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share. Desjardins also issued estimates for BCE's FY2025 earnings at $1.91 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.95 EPS.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.91 billion. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 15th. CIBC reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 22nd. TD Securities raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised BCE from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.50.

BCE Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of BCE opened at $24.28 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63. BCE has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $33.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.01.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. BCE's payout ratio is presently 437.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCE. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 2,459.6% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the second quarter valued at $42,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BCE

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.

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