Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Brookfield Call Options (NYSE:BN)

Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 7,287 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 340% compared to the typical volume of 1,655 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective (up previously from $50.67) on shares of Brookfield in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield in a research report on Monday, December 1st. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Brookfield from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Brookfield in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Brookfield from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.59.

Brookfield Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of BN opened at $47.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.79 and a beta of 1.57. Brookfield has a one year low of $29.07 and a one year high of $49.56. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Brookfield (NYSE:BN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Brookfield had a return on equity of 3.87% and a net margin of 1.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brookfield will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a boost from Brookfield’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Brookfield’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Partners Value Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Brookfield by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Partners Value Investments L.P. now owns 181,405,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,324,719,000 after purchasing an additional 60,468,651 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox acquired a new stake in Brookfield during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,894,354,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Brookfield by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 113,652,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,215,504,000 after buying an additional 32,760,558 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Brookfield by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 92,103,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,228,915,000 after acquiring an additional 31,543,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Brookfield by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 99,069,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,546,443,000 after acquiring an additional 30,755,354 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.60% of the company’s stock.

About Brookfield

Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN) is a global alternative asset manager that specializes in real assets. The company invests in and operates businesses across real estate, infrastructure, renewable power and energy, private equity and credit. Its activities span both ownership and active management of physical assets as well as the operation of investment funds and vehicles that provide institutional and retail investors access to long‑lived, cash‑generating assets.

Brookfield’s services include asset management, direct investing, property development and the operation of infrastructure and energy businesses.