Desjardins Issues Pessimistic Forecast for BCE (TSE:BCE) Stock Price

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Desjardins from C$41.00 to C$40.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Desjardins’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 16.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on BCE from C$33.00 to C$37.00 in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on BCE from C$40.75 to C$40.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays upgraded shares of BCE from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from C$35.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$37.85.

BCE Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of BCE stock opened at C$34.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 226.73, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of C$31.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.14, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.47. BCE has a 1 year low of C$28.73 and a 1 year high of C$36.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is C$33.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$33.07.

BCE (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported C$0.79 EPS 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. Analysts forecast that BCE will post 3.1120864 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about BCE

Here are the key news stories impacting BCE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: National Bank raised its price target to C$39 and kept an “outperform” rating — a clear buy-side signal that implies meaningful upside from current levels. BayStreet.CA
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lifted its target from C$33 to C$37, signaling improved conviction from a large institutional analyst. BayStreet.CA
• Positive Sentiment: Technical note — shares have crossed above their 200-day moving average, which traders view as a bullish technical development that can attract momentum buyers. AmericanBankingNews
• Neutral Sentiment: Scotiabank trimmed its target slightly to C$39.50 but maintained an “outperform” rating — still positive in absolute terms but a modest pullback from prior optimism. BayStreet.CA
• Neutral Sentiment: Desjardins cut its target to C$40 (from C$41) but left a “buy” call intact; another mixed signal that keeps multi-analyst upside intact despite small haircut. BayStreet.CA TickerReport
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of BCE’s Q4 results and CEO comments emphasizes a focus on premium customers and revenue mix — strategically positive for ARPU but potentially limiting market-share gains if competitors cut prices. WTOP – Q4 Snapshot MSN – CEO comments
• Negative Sentiment: An opinion piece warns investors to wait for a specific trigger before buying BCE, which can sap near-term demand from cautious retail/institutional flows. MSN – Opinion

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.