Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Increases Stake in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 197.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,191 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in BCE were worth $985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BCE. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC acquired a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in BCE by 1,147.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in BCE in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BCE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.67.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.29 on Friday, hitting $21.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,173,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,954,329. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $36.17. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.47. The company has a market capitalization of $20.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 181.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63.

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

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.