BCE (NYSE:BCE) Upgraded to Buy at Bank of America

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) was upgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $27.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $24.50. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.89% from the stock’s previous close.

BCE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on BCE in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. TD Securities upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BCE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.25.

BCE Trading Down 1.0%

BCE stock opened at $22.52 on Tuesday. BCE has a twelve month low of $20.87 and a twelve month high of $26.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.13.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. BCE had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The firm had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.35 billion. BCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.798-1.919 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that BCE will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in BCE by 735.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of BCE in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in shares of BCE in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of BCE by 1,642.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in shares of BCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

About BCE

BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.