BCE (NYSE:BCE) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $23.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.61. BCE has a twelve month low of $20.28 and a twelve month high of $26.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.55.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. BCE had a net margin of 25.62% and a return on equity of 17.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 25.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in BCE by 1.4% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 32,813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 23,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in BCE by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.