Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Acquires 109,400 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• Nicola Wealth Management LTD. increased its stake in BCE, Inc. by 28.2%, acquiring an additional 109,400 shares to own approximately 497,200 shares valued at $11.4 million.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Hold" on BCE, with a price target of $38.67, while recent earnings reports showed BCE's EPS fell short of estimates at $0.46.
• BCE announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share, with an annualized yield of 7.2%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 437.93%.

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 28.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 497,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 109,400 shares during the period. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. owned approximately 0.05% of BCE worth $11,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of BCE during the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of BCE by 67.1% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 15th. Desjardins raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. CIBC reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.67.

BCE Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $24.28 on Friday. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $36.17. The company's 50-day moving average price is $24.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The firm has a market cap of $22.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.63.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.06). BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The company had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The firm'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, research analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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