BCE (NYSE:BCE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

by · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE – Free Report) (TSE:BCE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

BCE has been the topic of several other reports. National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 15th. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Desjardins upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Securities raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on BCE

BCE Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE BCE opened at $22.93 on Friday. BCE has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $28.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.55 and a 200-day moving average of $23.21. The company has a market cap of $21.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The company had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that BCE will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 25.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BCE by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 32,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its holdings in BCE by 2.0% during the first quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 23,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of BCE by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Recommended Stories