BCE (NYSE:BCE) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $21.50 and last traded at $21.5310, with a volume of 4919956 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BCE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.67.

BCE Trading Up 1.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $19.97 billion, a PE ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.88 and its 200-day moving average is $24.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. BCE had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. BCE’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is 25.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FIL Ltd lifted its position in shares of BCE by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 37,579,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $896,398,000 after buying an additional 1,992,000 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 34,107,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $797,161,000 after buying an additional 3,024,110 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of BCE by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,020,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $429,834,000 after buying an additional 700,797 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of BCE by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,296,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,320,000 after buying an additional 160,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of BCE by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,212,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $378,981,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206,385 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

About BCE

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.