Edward Jones Downgrades BCE (NYSE:BCE) to Hold

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) was downgraded by investment analysts at Edward Jones from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, FinViz reports.

BCE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on BCE from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BCE from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BCE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BCE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.33.

BCE Trading Down 9.3 %

NYSE:BCE opened at $29.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $26.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.59. BCE has a 1 year low of $28.82 and a 1 year high of $41.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $34.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.70.

Institutional Trading of BCE

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of BCE during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of BCE by 3,480.0% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of BCE by 121.2% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. boosted its position in shares of BCE by 60.0% during the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of BCE by 321.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.