Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Price Target Raised to $44.00 at National Bankshares

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) had its target price lifted by National Bankshares from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. National Bankshares currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on BBU. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a report on Monday. Zacks Research raised Brookfield Business Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.67.

Brookfield Business Partners Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of BBU opened at $35.72 on Tuesday. Brookfield Business Partners has a 1-year low of $18.63 and a 1-year high of $37.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -137.38 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.78.

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

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -96.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 5.3% in the third quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 1,338,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,786,000 after acquiring an additional 67,295 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,119,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,513,000 after acquiring an additional 17,508 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 74.4% during the 3rd quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 696,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,849,000 after acquiring an additional 297,180 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 553,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,140,000 after acquiring an additional 69,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 796.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 322,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,530,000 after acquiring an additional 286,872 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

About Brookfield Business Partners

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.