Vest Financial LLC Has $1.86 Million Position in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in BCE, Inc. by 30.4% during Q2, owning a total of 83,742 shares valued at approximately $1.86 million.
• BCE reported an earnings miss with $0.46 per share against estimates of $0.52, along with revenue of $4.47 billion, which was below the expected $5.91 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4375, reflecting a 7.5% yield and a payout ratio of 437.93%.

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 30.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,544 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $1,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BCE. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in BCE by 129.4% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 3,560 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in BCE by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 460,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,567,000 after buying an additional 49,435 shares during the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $153,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in BCE by 77.2% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,891 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its position in BCE by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,374,910 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,518,000 after buying an additional 429,640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Desjardins raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cibc World Mkts cut BCE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, CIBC reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $32.50.

BCE Stock Down 3.6%

BCE stock opened at $23.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.75 billion, a PE ratio of 80.43, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.63. BCE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $33.85. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $24.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.98.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The firm's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.5%. BCE's payout ratio is 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.

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