Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

A number of research firms have issued reports on BBU. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce initiated coverage on Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Friday, February 27th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a report on Monday, February 2nd.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:BBU opened at $31.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -121.00 and a beta of 1.30. Brookfield Business Partners has a fifty-two week low of $18.63 and a fifty-two week high of $37.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.82.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The business services provider reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($1.86). The company had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 2.67%. Analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 23rd were given a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -96.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 30,100.0% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Brookfield Business Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Brookfield Business Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares during the period. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Brookfield Business Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Business Partners Company Profile

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE: BBU) is a publicly traded partnership sponsored by Brookfield Asset Management. The company focuses on acquiring and operating high-quality businesses across a range of industrial and service-oriented sectors. Through a partnership structure, Brookfield Business Partners seeks to provide investors with returns generated from stable, cash-flowing enterprises that benefit from Brookfield Asset Management’s global scale and operational expertise.

The company’s investment strategy centers on businesses within the industrial services, manufacturing, transportation, and business services segments.