Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Increases Position in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,647,934 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 445,680 shares during the quarter. BCE accounts for about 2.4% of Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned 0.61% of BCE worth $125,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in BCE during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in BCE by 2,459.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of BCE during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BCE Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE BCE opened at $22.81 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $23.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.24. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $27.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $21.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BCE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. National Bankshares reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

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.