Old Port Advisors Raises Stake in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• Old Port Advisors increased its stake in BCE, Inc. by 35.4% in Q2, now holding 61,868 shares worth $1,372,000, alongside several other hedge funds boosting their investments in the company.
• BCE reported an EPS of $0.46 for Q2, missing expectations of $0.52, and had revenue of $4.47 billion, falling short of the anticipated $5.91 billion.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 on October 15th, resulting in an annualized yield of 7.6%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 437.93%.

Old Port Advisors boosted its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,868 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 16,185 shares during the quarter. Old Port Advisors' holdings in BCE were worth $1,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BCE. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,075,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $541,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in BCE by 143.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 104,540 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,423,000 after buying an additional 61,658 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in BCE by 67.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in BCE by 722.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 8,113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock opened at $23.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.25 and a 200 day moving average of $22.97. BCE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.28 and a 52 week high of $35.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.69, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.63. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The business'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 expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. BCE's dividend payout ratio is 437.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Cibc World Mkts lowered BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, CIBC reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.50.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.