Scotiabank Weighs in on BCE’s FY2026 Earnings (NYSE:BCE)

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Investment analysts at Scotiabank lowered their FY2026 earnings estimates for BCE in a research note issued on Wednesday, February 11th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $1.86 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.04. Scotiabank has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.55 billion. BCE had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 16.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barrington Research raised BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE opened at $25.71 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.92. BCE has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $26.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.97 billion, a PE ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.60.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. BCE’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 735.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BCE during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in BCE by 1,642.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 2,459.6% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.