BCE, Inc. $BCE Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in BCE, Inc. by 28.8%, acquiring an additional 10,226 shares to own a total of 45,678 shares, valued at approximately $1,049,000.
• Despite recent purchases by various hedge funds, BCE's stock has faced challenges, reporting an EPS of $0.46 that missed analysts' expectations and revenue of $4.47 billion, significantly lower than projected.
• The company has recently cut its dividend, with a payout ratio of 437.93%, while analysts have varied opinions on the stock, with an average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $38.67.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 28.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,678 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,226 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $1,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE in the first quarter valued at about $1,400,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in BCE by 10.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,664,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,175,000 after acquiring an additional 258,861 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in BCE by 10.2% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 11,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in BCE by 59.5% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 85,515 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,962,000 after acquiring an additional 31,884 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in BCE during the first quarter worth about $88,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.96. The stock had a trading volume of 2,434,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,450,236. The company has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 86.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.97. BCE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $36.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

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

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 437.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BCE. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Desjardins raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Cibc World Mkts lowered BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Scotiabank raised BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.67.

BCE Company Profile

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.