Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC Acquires 58,845 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 90.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 123,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,845 shares during the quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $2,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of BCE in the second quarter worth about $28,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in BCE during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 64.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the first quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 8th. National Bankshares reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Cibc World Mkts cut BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $32.50.

BCE Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of BCE opened at $23.37 on Monday. 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 $21.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.63. BCE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $33.91. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.95.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 1.96%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.