BCE, Inc. $BCE Stock Bought by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Cidel Asset Management increased its BCE holdings by 837.3% in the third quarter, owning 270,978 shares valued at approximately $5.53 million. Institutional investors collectively own 41.46% of BCE.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with seven Buy ratings and five Hold ratings, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $29.00.
• BCE reported quarterly earnings of $0.47 per share, slightly above estimates, and maintains a quarterly dividend of C$0.44, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 8.6%.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 837.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 270,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 242,069 shares during the quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $5,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new position in shares of BCE in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 99.3% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 1,363 shares during the period. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 1st quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,787 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised BCE from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $24.50 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on BCE from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.00.

BCE Stock Up 1.6%

BCE stock opened at $20.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.44. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.68 and a 12 month high of $26.52. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $19.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.54.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. BCE had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 25.49%. The company had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.35 billion. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.798-1.919 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a C$0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.6%. BCE's payout ratio is currently 25.77%.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc is a Canadian communications and media company headquartered in Montréal, Québec. Through its Bell Canada operations, the company provides wireless and wireline telecommunications services, including mobile voice and data, high-speed internet, local and long-distance voice, and digital television. Bell serves residential, small-business, enterprise and government customers across Canada.

BCE also operates a media business through Bell Media, which includes television networks, digital platforms, radio stations and related content operations.

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