Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates Sector Perform Rating for BCE (NYSE:BCE)

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reissued by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $39.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 61.79% from the company’s previous close.

BCE has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

BCE Stock Performance

NYSE:BCE traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.11. The stock had a trading volume of 904,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,354,874. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.88. BCE has a twelve month low of $21.87 and a twelve month high of $37.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 200.88, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. On average, analysts expect that BCE will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of BCE by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

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.