Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) saw strong trading volume on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 21,102 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 50% from the previous session’s volume of 14,059 shares.The stock last traded at $24.44 and had previously closed at $25.02.

The business services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.39. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 7.34% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.063 dividend. This is a boost from Brookfield Business Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Brookfield Business Partners’s payout ratio is presently 3.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Business Partners has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.40.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Business Partners

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. K2 Principal Fund L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 58.3% in the 1st quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 156,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after purchasing an additional 57,553 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $307,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 90,242 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 767,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,036,000 after purchasing an additional 22,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 681,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,910,000 after purchasing an additional 77,017 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $22.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.45.

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.