Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (NYSE:BIP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.1250.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BIP shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 target price on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:BIP opened at $38.73 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.03 and a beta of 1.12. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has a 1 year low of $25.72 and a 1 year high of $39.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.42). Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a net margin of 4.40% and a return on equity of 3.22%. The business had revenue of $6.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. This is a boost from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s payout ratio is currently 191.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIP. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 225.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 544.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. 57.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE: BIP) is a publicly traded limited partnership that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets across four core sectors: utilities, transport, energy and data infrastructure. Through long-lived, regulated or contracted assets, Brookfield Infrastructure provides essential services such as electricity transmission and distribution, toll road and port operations, midstream energy logistics and fiber-based data networks.

The company’s utilities division encompasses regulated electricity and gas distribution networks in North and South America, Europe and Australia, ensuring stable cash flows under current regulatory frameworks.