Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Share Price Passes Below 50-Day Moving Average of $21.45

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.45 and traded as low as $19.14. Brookfield Business Partners shares last traded at $19.34, with a volume of 15,645 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BBU shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. National Bankshares boosted their price target on Brookfield Business Partners from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $26.50 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Desjardins boosted their target price on Brookfield Business Partners from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.67.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.41.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The business services provider reported $6.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $5.67. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 21.74%. The business had revenue of $13.41 billion for the quarter. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at $476,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,779,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $133,455,000 after purchasing an additional 128,970 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 19.3% in the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 81,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 13,155 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 65,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 28,541 shares during the period. Finally, DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co raised its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 3.9% in the third quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 304,114 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,427,000 after buying an additional 11,304 shares during the period. 85.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.