BCE’s (BCE) “Hold” Rating Reaffirmed at Canaccord Genuity Group

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group in a report released on Tuesday, StockNewsAPI reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BCE from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. National Bank Financial downgraded BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.33.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCE opened at $28.74 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.64. BCE has a 52 week low of $28.26 and a 52 week high of $41.77. The stock has a market cap of $26.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.59.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BCE

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BCE. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in BCE in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in BCE by 3,480.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 321.0% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. 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.