Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Desjardins raised their price target on the stock from $41.00 to $43.00. The stock had previously closed at $35.02, but opened at $37.00. Desjardins currently has a buy rating on the stock. Brookfield Business Partners shares last traded at $36.77, with a volume of 6,844 shares changing hands.

BBU has been the topic of several other research reports. National Bankshares boosted their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Brookfield Business Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 74.4% in the 3rd quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 696,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,849,000 after purchasing an additional 297,180 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 796.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 322,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,530,000 after buying an additional 286,872 shares during the period. Credit Industriel ET Commercial purchased a new stake in Brookfield Business Partners during the third quarter worth $4,905,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Brookfield Business Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,373,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,392,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Business Partners Trading Up 3.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -139.42 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.71.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The business services provider reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 2.67%. On average, research analysts forecast that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

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

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.