Graham Capital Management L.P. Buys New Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 54,871 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,272,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of BCE by 217.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BCE. National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BCE currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.67.

BCE Stock Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.55. 2,789,165 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,938,484. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 179.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BCE 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.