Avanza Fonder AB Invests $590,000 in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• Avanza Fonder AB has invested approximately $590,000 in BCE, Inc. by purchasing 26,595 shares, marking the firm’s new position in the company.
• BCE reported a Q2 EPS of $0.46, which missed analyst expectations of $0.52, while its revenue was up 1.3% year-over-year but fell short of the consensus estimate.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 7.6% and a notable payout ratio of 434.48%.

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 26,595 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of BCE by 36.1% during the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 25,249,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $579,458,000 after buying an additional 6,697,900 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in BCE by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,101,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $369,574,000 after purchasing an additional 222,432 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in BCE by 50.9% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,181,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $325,559,000 after purchasing an additional 4,783,232 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in BCE by 170.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,679,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $268,164,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in BCE by 94.4% during the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,649,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $243,966,000 after purchasing an additional 5,171,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.10 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company's 50-day moving average price is $24.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.00. BCE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $35.30. The stock has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a PE ratio of 79.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.63.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The business had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. BCE's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. BCE's payout ratio is 434.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 8th. 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. Scotiabank upgraded BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.50.

About BCE

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.

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