Canerector Inc. Buys 7,880,000 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Canerector Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 3,152.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,130,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,880,000 shares during the period. BCE accounts for approximately 0.4% of Canerector Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Canerector Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $190,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BCE in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the second quarter valued at $42,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 81.0% in the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in BCE by 229.1% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 2,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in BCE by 340.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, January 12th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.00.

BCE Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $26.40 on Wednesday. BCE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $26.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $24.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.07. The company has a market cap of $24.62 billion, a PE ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.55 billion. BCE had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 16.30%. The company’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Equities analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.