Viking Fund Management LLC Has $138,000 Stock Holdings in BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE)

Viking Fund Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE by 96.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 150,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in BCE were worth $138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BCE. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in BCE by 1,147.3% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in BCE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company's stock.

BCE Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE BCE traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.77. 2,332,101 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,970,613. BCE Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.28 and a 1 year high of $36.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 181.38, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.61. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $21.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BCE Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of BCE from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.