Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for BCE Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has revised BCE's FY2025 earnings estimate down to $1.93 per share, from a previous forecast of $1.98.
• BCE reported a Q2 earnings miss with an EPS of $0.46, below the consensus estimate of $0.52, along with a revenue of $4.47 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 7.0% and a payout ratio of 434.48%.

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE - Analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2025 EPS estimates for BCE in a note issued to investors on Thursday, August 28th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.93 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $1.98. The consensus estimate for BCE's current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for BCE's Q1 2026 earnings at $0.43 EPS.

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

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank raised shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Desjardins raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, CIBC reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.67.

BCE Stock Up 0.9%

BCE traded up $0.23 on Monday, reaching $24.70. 2,189,198 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,062,674. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $24.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.01. BCE has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $36.17. The company has a market cap of $23.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.16, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 4.8% in the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 593,697 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,146,000 after buying an additional 27,397 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of BCE in the second quarter valued at $103,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 15.7% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of BCE by 3.1% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 90,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,997,000 after buying an additional 2,698 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 437.93%.

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.