Ninepoint Partners LP Acquires New Stake in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 75,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,770,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 278,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,400,000 after acquiring an additional 75,053 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in BCE by 64.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of BCE by 3.1% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 322,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,147,000 after buying an additional 9,543 shares during the period. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,644,000. Finally, Timelo Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BCE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,108,000. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Performance

BCE stock opened at $26.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.60. BCE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $26.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.74 and its 200 day moving average is $24.06.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.55 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 16.30% and a net margin of 26.14%.The business’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Research analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BCE shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Barrington Research raised BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

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.