BCE (NYSE:BCE) Price Target Raised to $39.00 at Royal Bank Of Canada

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $38.00 to $39.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 48.49% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 28th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of BCE from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.67.

BCE Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:BCE traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.27. The company had a trading volume of 723,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,484,302. BCE has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $26.52. The stock has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a PE ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.11.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.55 billion. BCE had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 26.14%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.790-1.910 EPS. Research analysts forecast that BCE will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canerector Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 7,880,000 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of BCE by 99.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 14,006,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $310,682,000 after buying an additional 6,981,281 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter worth about $100,999,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at about $91,811,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec grew its position in BCE by 9.7% during the third 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 buying an additional 3,024,110 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.