BCE (NYSE:BCE) Downgraded to "Underweight" Rating by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of BCE (NYSE:BCE - Free Report) TSE: BCE from a neutral rating to an underweight rating in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on BCE. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of BCE in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut shares of BCE from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Edward Jones lowered shares of BCE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on BCE in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "underweight" rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.50.

BCE Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:BCE traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.52. The company had a trading volume of 3,332,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,683,599. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $24.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.69. BCE has a twelve month low of $21.87 and a twelve month high of $38.21. The firm has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 187.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

BCE (NYSE:BCE - Get Free Report) TSE: BCE last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.03. BCE had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 17.89%. On average, equities analysts expect that BCE will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

BCE Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.6965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.79 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.37%. BCE's payout ratio is presently 2,350.00%.

Institutional Trading of BCE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in BCE by 4.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,873,961 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $656,421,000 after purchasing an additional 864,472 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in BCE by 25.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,657,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $127,282,000 after buying an additional 738,656 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew 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 valued at $123,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166,800 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in BCE by 130.1% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 293,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,200,000 after purchasing an additional 165,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in BCE by 78.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,192,000 after buying an additional 52,966 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.