Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Grows Position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 55.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,339,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 478,512 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.15% of BCE worth $31,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,192,000 after acquiring an additional 52,966 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in BCE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $137,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,884 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 8,633 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in BCE by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 9,929 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 1,429 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Stock Down 0.6%

BCE traded down $0.14 on Monday, reaching $22.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 829,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,889,170. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market capitalization of $20.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 188.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63. BCE Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCE has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.

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.