Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Trading Up 3.4% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) rose 3.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $22.81 and last traded at $22.81. Approximately 9,082 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 14,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.07.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.48.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The business services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.39. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 30.68%. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from Brookfield Business Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 117,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,731,000 after purchasing an additional 26,947 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 12,276.3% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 260,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,076,000 after buying an additional 258,662 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 97,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,274,000 after buying an additional 16,684 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 25,602,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $596,538,000 after acquiring an additional 428,511 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 773,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,145,000 after acquiring an additional 92,413 shares in the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.