Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Stock Holdings in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,296,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 160,310 shares during the quarter. BCE comprises 0.7% of Bank of Nova Scotia’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 1.85% of BCE worth $436,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in BCE by 15.7% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of BCE by 17.1% during the third quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 4,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in shares of BCE by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 28,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of BCE by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 33,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Trading Down 1.2%

BCE opened at $21.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. BCE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.87 and a 52 week high of $26.52. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.29. The firm has a market cap of $19.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.52.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 25.66%.The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that BCE, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.2%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BCE shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on BCE in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research cut BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on BCE from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

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.