Two Sigma Advisers LP Makes New Investment in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 244,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,665,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BCE. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in BCE by 217.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC purchased a new position in shares of BCE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of BCE by 1,147.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of BCE by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BCE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BCE Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of BCE stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $21.49. 1,653,030 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,313,829. BCE Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.28 and a 52-week high of $36.17. The stock has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 179.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock's fifty day moving average is $21.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.52.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on BCE. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.67.

BCE Company 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.