BCE (NYSE:BCE) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Barrington Research

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) was upgraded by stock analysts at Barrington Research from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a $26.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $21.00. Barrington Research’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.06% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Cibc Captl Mkts upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $25.48. 2,112,435 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,920,337. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.76. The company has a market cap of $23.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.60. BCE has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $26.01.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.35% and a net margin of 25.62%.The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. BCE’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. Equities research analysts anticipate that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCE. Canerector Inc. grew its holdings in BCE by 3,152.0% in the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 8,130,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $190,161,000 after buying an additional 7,880,000 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in BCE by 99.4% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 14,006,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $310,682,000 after purchasing an additional 6,981,281 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in BCE during the second quarter worth approximately $81,315,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 34,107,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $797,161,000 after purchasing an additional 3,024,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BCE by 77.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,389,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $149,459,000 after buying an additional 2,792,485 shares during the period. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.