BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (TSE:BCE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 2,937 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 262% compared to the typical volume of 812 put options.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
BCE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Securities cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Barrington Research raised BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.67.
BCE Stock Up 0.6%
BCE traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.12. 592,158 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,353,601. The firm has a market cap of $22.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.48. BCE has a 12-month low of $21.09 and a 12-month high of $26.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.60 and a 200 day moving average of $24.32.
BCE (NYSE:BCE – Get Free Report) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Analysts predict that BCE will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.
BCE Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s payout ratio is presently 26.02%.
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.
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