Research Analysts Set Expectations for BCE FY2026 Earnings

Key Points

• Scotiabank lowered its FY2026 EPS forecast for BCE to $1.87 from $1.90, below the analyst consensus of $1.92, while maintaining an “Outperform” rating.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive: six analysts rate BCE a Buy and five rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $29.25.
• BCE reported quarterly EPS of $0.47, slightly ahead of estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share, equivalent to a 7.9% annualized yield.

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE - Investment analysts at Scotiabank lowered their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of BCE in a research note issued on Thursday, September 17th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $1.87 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $1.90. Scotiabank currently has a "Outperform" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE's current full-year earnings is $1.92 per share.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on BCE. Raymond James Financial started coverage on BCE in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of BCE from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of BCE from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Bank of America raised shares of BCE from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $24.50 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.25.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $22.07 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.67. The stock has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.51, a PEG ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.52. BCE has a 52 week low of $20.87 and a 52 week high of $26.52.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.35 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 25.49%.BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.798-1.919 EPS.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in BCE by 66.0% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 22,108 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 8,791 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 4,246 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of BCE by 99.3% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 1,363 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,139,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 3,721.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 782,149 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,842,000 after buying an additional 761,681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc is a Canadian communications and media company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Through its Bell operations, the company provides wireless and wireline telecommunications services, including mobile voice and data plans, high-speed internet, telephone services, and business communications solutions.

BCE also offers television services, including conventional, satellite, and internet-based television, as well as digital content and streaming products. Its media operations include television networks, specialty channels, digital media properties, and sports and news programming.

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