BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) Stake Increased by Viking Fund Management LLC

Viking Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) by 12.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 151,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,700 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in BCE were worth $5,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in BCE by 4.9% in the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BCE by 11.3% during the first quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 4,171 shares during the last quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in BCE by 15.2% during the first quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in BCE in the first quarter worth $85,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in BCE by 11.8% during the first quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 30,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 3,215 shares during the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BCE Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BCE traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $32.37. 1,017,224 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,338,900. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.61. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.82 and a 52-week high of $46.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.11. The company has a market capitalization of $29.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.57.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. BCE had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 7.53%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.738 per share. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 201.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on BCE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. CIBC raised shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on BCE from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.25.

BCE Company 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.