Flax Pond Capital LLC Invests $4.79 Million in BCE, Inc. $BCE

Flax Pond Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE, Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 201,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,792,000. BCE accounts for about 3.5% of Flax Pond Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BCE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in BCE by 735.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in BCE by 1,642.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

BCE Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:BCE opened at $23.30 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.74. BCE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.58 and a fifty-two week high of $26.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.50.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. BCE’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BCE, Inc. will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. BCE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BCE. TD Securities cut shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.67.

About BCE

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.