National Bank Financial Upgrades BCE (NYSE:BCE) to Strong-Buy

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) was upgraded by National Bank Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for BCE’s FY2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut BCE from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock opened at $22.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 189.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.63. BCE has a 1 year low of $21.62 and a 1 year high of $36.17.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 0.99%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BCE will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in BCE by 722.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 8,113 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 67.1% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of BCE by 143.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 104,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 61,658 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $541,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

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.