BCE (NYSE:BCE) Lowered to Hold at National Bank Financial

National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Zacks.com reports. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2024 earnings at $2.21 EPS.

BCE has been the topic of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of BCE from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $46.67.

BCE Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $34.84 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.76. The firm has a market cap of $31.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.58. BCE has a twelve month low of $31.13 and a twelve month high of $41.77.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 8.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. Analysts expect that BCE will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.729 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 204.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in BCE in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in BCE by 3,480.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its holdings in BCE by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in BCE in the 2nd quarter worth $76,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BCE

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.