Desjardins Downgrades BCE (BCE) to Hold

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Desjardins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, The Fly reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BCE. Canaccord Genuity reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of BCE in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of BCE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of BCE from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of BCE from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $55.80.

BCE (NYSE BCE) traded up $0.23 on Friday, reaching $46.68. 982,300 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 832,275. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. BCE has a fifty-two week low of $42.44 and a fifty-two week high of $49.06. The company has a market capitalization of $41,760.00, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 0.36.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BCE during the fourth quarter valued at $104,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in BCE during the third quarter valued at $116,000. Societe Generale bought a new position in BCE during the second quarter valued at $118,000. First Interstate Bank lifted its position in BCE by 62.9% during the second quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 2,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in BCE by 0.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 44.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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About BCE

BCE Inc is a communications company. The Company’s segments include Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline and Bell Media. Its Bell Wireless segment provides wireless voice and data communications products and services to its residential, small and medium-sized business and large enterprise customers across Canada.