BCE (NYSE:BCE) Now Covered by Morgan Stanley

Stock analysts at Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) in a research report issued on Monday. The brokerage set an “underweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on BCE. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on BCE from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Edward Jones cut BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

BCE Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $23.60 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.25. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $21.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 337.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.54. BCE has a 1-year low of $23.38 and a 1-year high of $41.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of BCE by 3,355.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,852,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798,427 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in BCE by 5,036.0% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,354,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,042 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in BCE by 48.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,563,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,800 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in BCE by 23.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,520,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of BCE by 12.0% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,450,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,553,000 after purchasing an additional 905,857 shares during the period. 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.