Scotiabank Has Pessimistic Outlook of BCE FY2026 Earnings

BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) – Research analysts at Scotiabank lowered their FY2026 earnings estimates for BCE in a report released on Wednesday, February 11th. Scotiabank analyst M. Yaghi now forecasts that the company will earn $2.53 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.81. Scotiabank has a “Outperform” rating and a $39.50 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for BCE’s current full-year earnings is $3.11 per share.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported C$0.79 earnings per share for the quarter. BCE had a net margin of 1.10% and a return on equity of 1.39%. The business had revenue of C$6.05 billion during the quarter.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Desjardins lowered their price target on BCE from C$41.00 to C$40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a C$37.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of BCE from C$33.00 to C$37.00 in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from C$39.00 to C$38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$37.85.

BCE Price Performance

TSE:BCE opened at C$35.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 226.73. BCE has a 52 week low of C$28.73 and a 52 week high of C$36.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is C$33.22 and its 200-day moving average price is C$33.11. The stock has a market capitalization of C$32.74 billion, a PE ratio of 5.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.47.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.02%.

BCE Company Profile

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.