BCE (NYSE:BCE) Earns Underweight Rating from Barclays

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating restated by investment analysts at Barclays in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on BCE in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

BCE Trading Down 0.9 %

BCE stock opened at $23.18 on Tuesday. BCE has a 52 week low of $21.87 and a 52 week high of $41.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.51. The company has a market capitalization of $21.14 billion, a PE ratio of 331.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCE. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in BCE by 3,355.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 48.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,877,000 after buying an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in BCE by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,553,000 after buying an additional 905,857 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in BCE by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,421,000 after buying an additional 864,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,271,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

About BCE

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.