Brokers Offer Predictions for BCE Q1 Earnings

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) – Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial issued their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of BCE in a report issued on Wednesday, March 26th. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.43 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $1.94 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2026 earnings at $1.86 EPS.

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

A number of other research firms have also commented on BCE. Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

BCE Stock Down 0.9 %

BCE stock opened at $22.96 on Friday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.07. The firm has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.6965 dividend. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2,291.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in BCE by 623.9% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,398,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $217,573,000 after acquiring an additional 8,100,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $87,643,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 19,945,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,262,000 after buying an additional 3,624,953 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of BCE by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 10,569,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $244,692,000 after buying an additional 2,706,839 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its stake in BCE by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 26,292,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $609,465,000 after buying an additional 2,322,474 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.