BCE (NYSE:BCE) Raised to Strong-Buy at Cibc Captl Mkts

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Cibc Captl Mkts from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

BCE has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays cut their price objective on BCE from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. TD Securities upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BCE opened at $23.22 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a PE ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.55. BCE has a 12 month low of $20.28 and a 12 month high of $26.38.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in BCE by 735.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BCE during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of BCE by 2,459.6% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.