Scotiabank Upgrades BCE (NYSE:BCE) to "Sector Outperform"

Scotiabank upgraded shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

BCE has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. National Bank Financial upgraded BCE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of BCE in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.67.

BCE Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:BCE traded down $0.08 during trading on Monday, hitting $21.89. 1,139,815 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,958,367. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 182.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.61. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $36.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.33.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BCE will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in BCE by 623.9% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 9,398,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $217,573,000 after purchasing an additional 8,100,000 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in BCE by 170.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,679,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $268,164,000 after acquiring an additional 7,365,253 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in BCE by 36.1% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 25,249,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $579,458,000 after acquiring an additional 6,697,900 shares during the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its position in BCE by 94.4% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 10,649,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $243,966,000 after purchasing an additional 5,171,655 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in BCE in the fourth quarter valued at about $87,643,000. 41.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.