Scotiabank has elevated its rating for BCE (BCE, Financial) from Sector Perform to Outperform. This change in assessment comes with a newly set price target of C$39, reflecting increased confidence in the company's prospects.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast
Based on the one-year price targets offered by 10 analysts, the average target price for BCE Inc (BCE, Financial) is $25.80 with a high estimate of $33.20 and a low estimate of $21.15. The average target implies an upside of 18.34% from the current price of $21.80. More detailed estimate data can be found on the BCE Inc (BCE) Forecast page.
Based on the consensus recommendation from 11 brokerage firms, BCE Inc's (BCE, Financial) average brokerage recommendation is currently 3.2, indicating "Hold" status. The rating scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 signifies Strong Buy, and 5 denotes Sell.
Based on GuruFocus estimates, the estimated GF Value for BCE Inc (BCE, Financial) in one year is $37.61, suggesting a upside of 72.52% from the current price of $21.8. GF Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on the historical multiples the stock has traded at previously, as well as past business growth and the future estimates of the business' performance. More detailed data can be found on the BCE Inc (BCE) Summary page.
BCE Key Business Developments
Release Date: May 08, 2025
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
- BCE Inc (BCE, Financial) announced a major partnership with PSP Investments, which will help fund their U.S. fiber business with commitments exceeding $1.5 billion.
- The company has increased its fiber footprint by more than 50% since 2020, now covering over 7.8 million households and business locations in Canada.
- BCE Inc (BCE) has successfully doubled its Internet customer base on fiber to 3 million, with over 60% of these customers taking gigabit-plus speeds.
- The strategic partnership with PSP Investments is expected to improve BCE Inc (BCE)'s free cash flow by over $1 billion from 2026 to 2028.
- BCE Inc (BCE) has launched a new technology solutions provider, Petco, aimed at generating $1 billion in revenue by 2030, leveraging recent acquisitions and expertise in automation platforms.
Negative Points
- Total revenue for BCE Inc (BCE) was down 1.3%, largely due to a 7.4% decrease in low-margin product sales.
- The company experienced a small net loss in total mobile phone subscribers in Q1, compared to 25,000 net adds last year.
- Mobile phone ARPU was down 1.8%, marking the second or third quarter of decline.
- The dividend for BCE common shares has been adjusted to $1.75 per year, reflecting significant changes in the economic and operating environment.
- BCE Inc (BCE) continues to face competitive pricing pressures and ongoing declines in legacy voice, data, and satellite TV services.
