Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.6667.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BBU. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded Brookfield Business Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Brookfield Business Partners from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Business Partners

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the second quarter worth approximately $3,373,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new stake in Brookfield Business Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at $391,000. Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new position in Brookfield Business Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $265,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,102,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,344,000 after acquiring an additional 14,981 shares during the period. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 5.4% in the third quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 44,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276 shares in the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Performance

Brookfield Business Partners stock opened at $37.31 on Wednesday. Brookfield Business Partners has a 52 week low of $18.63 and a 52 week high of $37.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -143.50 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.59 and a 200-day moving average of $32.15.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last posted 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). Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 2.67% and a net margin of 1.41%.The firm had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. On average, analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.