Research Analysts Set Expectations for BCE Q1 Earnings

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Research analysts at Cormark issued their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BCE in a report released on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cormark analyst D. Mcfadgen expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.42 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share. Cormark also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2026 earnings at $2.05 EPS.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%.

BCE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America lowered BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $22.22 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.32. The company has a market capitalization of $20.48 billion, a PE ratio of 185.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. BCE has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,291.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in BCE by 623.9% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,398,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $217,573,000 after purchasing an additional 8,100,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter worth $87,643,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of BCE by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 19,945,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,262,000 after acquiring an additional 3,624,953 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of BCE by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 10,569,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $244,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706,839 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in BCE by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 26,292,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $609,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322,474 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.