Scotiabank Has Pessimistic Outlook of BCE FY2026 Earnings

Key Points

• Scotiabank trimmed its FY2026 EPS estimate for BCE to $2.81 (from $2.82) while keeping an "Outperform" rating and a $40.25 price target, versus a consensus full-year estimate of $3.11 per share.
• BCE's analyst consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of C$36.20, based on a mix of 2 Strong Buy, 7 Buy, 2 Hold and 2 Sell ratings.
• BCE pays a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 (annualized $1.75), representing a 5.1% yield and a payout ratio of about 43.1%.

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE - Free Report) NYSE: BCE - Equities research analysts at Scotiabank cut their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BCE in a report released on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.81 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $2.82. Scotiabank has a "Outperform" rating and a $40.25 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE's current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets raised BCE from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a C$37.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised BCE from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from C$35.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Desjardins reduced their target price on shares of BCE from C$42.00 to C$41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Cibc Captl Mkts upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of BCE from C$39.00 to C$38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$36.20.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE opened at C$34.52 on Monday. BCE has a 1 year low of C$28.73 and a 1 year high of C$36.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 226.73, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of C$32.19 billion, a PE ratio of 5.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$32.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$32.93.

BCE (TSE:BCE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BCE last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported C$0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$6.05 billion during the quarter. BCE had a return on equity of 1.39% and a net margin of 1.10%.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 43.09%.

About BCE

Bell Media is Canada's leading media and entertainment company with a portfolio of assets in premium video, audio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. This includes Canada's most-watched television network, CTV; the largest Canadian-owned video streamer, Crave, with a premium add-on to include STARZ; a powerful suite of specialty channels; the most-trusted news brand, CTV News; Canada's cross-platform sports leaders, TSN and RDS; leading out-of-home advertising network, Astral; Québec's fast-growing conventional French-language network, Noovo; the country's leading radio and podcast app, iHeartRadio Canada; and a range of award-winning original productions, brands, and services.

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