Short Interest in Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Expands By 11.4%

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 51,900 shares, a growth of 11.4% from the September 15th total of 46,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 14,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

BBU traded down $0.36 on Thursday, reaching $23.99. The company had a trading volume of 11,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,086. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.00. Brookfield Business Partners has a 52-week low of $12.22 and a 52-week high of $24.96. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.11.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The business services provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.95). The firm had revenue of $11.95 billion for the quarter. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 7.34% and a return on equity of 21.76%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brookfield Business Partners will post 4.52 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 681,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,910,000 after purchasing an additional 77,017 shares in the last quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 58.3% during the 1st quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 156,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 57,553 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 88,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 23,258 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 767,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,036,000 after acquiring an additional 22,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 97.4% in the 2nd quarter. AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd now owns 45,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 22,200 shares during the period. 85.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Brookfield Business Partners

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. is a private equity firm specializing in acquisition. The firm typically invests in business services, infrastructure services, construction, energy, and industrials sector. It prefers to take majority stake in companies. The firm seeks returns of at least 15% on its investments.