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

BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $20.12 and last traded at $20.3550, with a volume of 2954337 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BCE from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research upgraded BCE from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered BCE from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.25.

BCE Stock Down 0.8%

The firm has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.32.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.35 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 25.49%.BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.798-1.919 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that BCE, Inc. will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of C$0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.9%. BCE’s payout ratio is currently 25.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in BCE by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 13,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the second quarter valued at approximately $815,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of BCE by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 214,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,658,000 after buying an additional 10,204 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in shares of BCE by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 22,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 8,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in BCE by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 4,246 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BCE

BCE Inc, operating primarily under the Bell brand, is a Canadian communications and media company. Its telecommunications operations provide wireless voice and data services, broadband internet, television, home phone, and business communications solutions to consumers, organizations, and government customers across Canada.

Through Bell, the company offers mobile connectivity, fiber and other internet services, digital television, cloud services, cybersecurity, unified communications, and information technology solutions.