Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Purchases 1,402 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 2,459.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,402 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in BCE were worth $32,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its position in BCE by 2.0% in the first quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 23,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 7.8% during the first 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 during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 10.3% during the first 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 during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 10.2% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 4.0% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BCE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Cibc World Mkts cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 22nd. National Bankshares reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, TD Securities raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $23.81 on Monday. BCE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $33.22. The firm has a market cap of $22.20 billion, a PE ratio of 82.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.04 and a 200-day moving average of $23.10.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced 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). BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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, equities research analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 437.93%.

BCE 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.