Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases 31,194 Shares of BCE, Inc. $BCE

Magnetar Financial LLC grew its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 103.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,194 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $1,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BCE by 170.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,679,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $268,164,000 after acquiring an additional 7,365,253 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of BCE by 36.1% during the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 25,249,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $579,458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,697,900 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 94.4% during the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,649,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,966,000 after purchasing an additional 5,171,655 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of BCE by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,181,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $325,559,000 after purchasing an additional 4,783,232 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of BCE by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,844,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $157,133,000 after purchasing an additional 815,614 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE opened at $23.16 on Monday. BCE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $27.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.85, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Research analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on BCE shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Securities upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

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.