Bayforest Capital Ltd Buys Shares of 1,895 BCE, Inc. $BCE

Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in BCE during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in BCE during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the 1st quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE BCE opened at $24.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a PE ratio of 83.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $24.15 and its 200 day moving average is $23.01. BCE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $33.76.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. BCE’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 437.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCE has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Securities upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Desjardins upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 15th. CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Cibc World Mkts downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

BCE Company Profile

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.