National Bank Financial Predicts Weaker Earnings for BCE

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE - Stock analysts at National Bank Financial lowered their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of BCE in a report issued on Sunday, June 29th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine now expects 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 currently has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE's current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank raised shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.67.

BCE Trading Down 0.7%

BCE traded down $0.16 on Wednesday, hitting $22.70. 3,131,622 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,080,116. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. BCE has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $36.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.68. 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 Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of BCE by 154.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 52,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 31,607 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in BCE by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 278,383 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,453,000 after purchasing an additional 59,795 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $386,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in BCE by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,028,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $139,734,000 after buying an additional 168,704 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

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.