BCE (NYSE:BCE) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Bank of America currently has $27.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $24.50.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of BCE from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.25.

BCE Trading Up 0.7%

BCE stock opened at $23.29 on Tuesday. BCE has a one year low of $20.87 and a one year high of $26.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $22.44 and its 200 day moving average is $24.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.71 billion, a PE ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. BCE had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 12.90%. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.798-1.919 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BCE will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of BCE by 3.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its holdings in BCE by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 4,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in BCE by 5.1% in the first quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 7.8% in the second quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 10,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.