61,013 Shares in BCE, Inc. $BCE Purchased by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has invested approximately $1.40 million in BCE, Inc., acquiring 61,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock during the first quarter.
• BCE's recent earnings report showed missed expectations with earnings per share at $0.46, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.52.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 15th, representing a 7.0% yield.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 61,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,400,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of BCE by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 10,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in BCE by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,332 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in BCE by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in BCE by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 11,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. CIBC restated a "neutral" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, TD Securities restated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.67.

BCE Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BCE traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $24.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,056,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,273,421. The stock has a market cap of $22.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. BCE, Inc. has a one year low of $20.28 and a one year high of $36.17. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $24.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.99.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last released its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is presently 434.48%.

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.