Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Shares Up 4.1% – Should You Buy?

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) shares rose 4.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $23.47 and last traded at $23.53. Approximately 12,809 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 14,976 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BBU. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Down 1.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.95 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $1.33. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 5.09%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Brookfield Business Partners’s payout ratio is -51.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BBU. Brookfield Corp ON grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $596,538,000 after buying an additional 428,511 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,718,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $180,759,000 after buying an additional 64,007 shares in the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 1,618,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,041,000 after purchasing an additional 99,763 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,020,778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,506,000 after purchasing an additional 22,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 928,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,871,000 after purchasing an additional 94,052 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.