Scotiabank Research Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for BCE

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Equities researchers at Scotiabank reduced their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of BCE in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, July 7th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $2.56 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.64. Scotiabank has a “Sector Outperform” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Desjardins cut their price target on shares of BCE from C$41.50 to C$41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a C$37.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. TD Securities upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on BCE from C$38.00 to C$39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of C$38.11.

BCE Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$30.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 183.90, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66. BCE has a 52-week low of C$29.66 and a 52-week high of C$36.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$32.96 and its 200-day moving average price is C$33.69. The stock has a market capitalization of C$28.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.29.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C$0.63 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$6.17 billion during the quarter. BCE had a return on equity of 29.69% and a net margin of 26.07%.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.85%.

Insider Activity at BCE

In other BCE news, insider Sean Cohan sold 3,645 shares of BCE stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$33.48, for a total transaction of C$122,034.60. Also, Director Louis Vachon bought 15,000 shares of BCE stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$33.39 per share, for a total transaction of C$500,850.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 75,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,504,250. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,255 shares of company stock valued at $376,464. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.