BCE (NYSE:BCE) Price Target Lowered to $21.00 at Barclays

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 8.44% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded BCE from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

BCE Price Performance

NYSE:BCE traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $22.94. 1,364,144 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,249,867. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. BCE has a 1-year low of $20.28 and a 1-year high of $28.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.59 and its 200-day moving average is $23.20. The stock has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.62.

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. BCE had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. BCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.910-1.980 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that BCE will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 7,365,253 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in BCE by 99.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 14,006,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $310,682,000 after purchasing an additional 6,981,281 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of BCE by 36.1% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 6,697,900 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its stake in shares of BCE by 94.4% in the 1st 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, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of BCE by 50.9% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,181,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $325,559,000 after purchasing an additional 4,783,232 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.46% of the company’s stock.

About BCE

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.