Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Receives $32.60 Average PT from Brokerages

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the four ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.33.

BBU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBU. Brookfield Corp ON increased its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.7% in 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 last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 1,618,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,041,000 after purchasing an additional 99,763 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 8.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 834,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,193,000 after buying an additional 66,786 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 13.6% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 773,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,145,000 after buying an additional 92,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 641,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,047,000 after buying an additional 82,372 shares in the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Performance

BBU opened at $23.07 on Tuesday. Brookfield Business Partners has a 12-month low of $16.85 and a 12-month high of $26.75. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.08 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $22.87 and its 200 day moving average is $22.44.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $1.33. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 5.09% and a net margin of 2.20%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently -51.02%.

Brookfield Business Partners Company Profile

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.