Jump Financial LLC Takes Position in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in BCE, Inc., purchasing 11,676 shares valued at approximately $268,000 in the 1st quarter, indicating growing institutional interest in the utilities provider.
• Analysts have mixed views on BCE's stock, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Sell," and a consensus target price set at $38.67.
• BCE recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share, equating to an annual dividend yield of 7.1%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BCE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 249,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,787,000 after acquiring an additional 11,746 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,068,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 502.5% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 156,499 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,628,000 after acquiring an additional 130,522 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $559,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of BCE by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,339,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,048,000 after acquiring an additional 478,512 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 8th. National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Scotiabank raised BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Desjardins raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.67.

BCE Trading Down 0.8%

BCE traded down $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.19. 552,162 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,260,514. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.00. The firm has a market cap of $22.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.63. BCE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $36.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.61.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. BCE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 437.93%.

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.