Wall Street Zen Upgrades BCE (NYSE:BCE) to Buy

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Securities raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Cibc Captl Mkts raised BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, CIBC upgraded BCE from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

BCE Stock Up 0.0%

BCE stock opened at $22.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.61. BCE has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $26.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.51.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a net margin of 25.62% and a return on equity of 17.35%. The company had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Analysts expect that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of BCE by 28.0% during the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 200,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,674,000 after buying an additional 43,800 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in BCE by 735.3% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the third quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in BCE during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,044,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in BCE by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 464,417 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,775,000 after purchasing an additional 5,803 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

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.