Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Invests $256,000 in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 11,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BCE. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in BCE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 2,459.6% during 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 during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in BCE during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE BCE opened at $23.17 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $21.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.91, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.20. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $28.64.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 437.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Desjardins upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

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.