BCE (NYSE:BCE) Shares Down 4.4% – Here’s Why

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s share price traded down 4.4% during trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $18.99 and last traded at $19.0830. Approximately 1,099,658 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 3,672,838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded BCE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Bank of America upgraded shares of BCE from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $24.50 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.25.

BCE Trading Down 5.2%

The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.13. The firm has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of 3.87, a PEG ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. BCE had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 25.49%.The firm had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.798-1.919 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a C$0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.2%. BCE’s payout ratio is 25.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 501.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 75,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 62,698 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of BCE by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,886,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,570,000 after acquiring an additional 172,955 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,837,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,097,000 after purchasing an additional 282,287 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 535.8% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 532,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,435,000 after purchasing an additional 448,757 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of BCE by 0.9% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,296,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,320,000 after purchasing an additional 160,310 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc, operating primarily under the Bell brand, is a Canadian communications and media company. Its telecommunications operations provide wireless voice and data services, broadband internet, television, home phone, and business communications solutions to consumers, organizations, and government customers across Canada.

Through Bell, the company offers mobile connectivity, fiber and other internet services, digital television, cloud services, cybersecurity, unified communications, and information technology solutions.