Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 20,611 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the previous session’s volume of 16,512 shares.The stock last traded at $21.85 and had previously closed at $21.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.50.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The business services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 30.68% and a net margin of 11.77%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.063 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is an increase from Brookfield Business Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.09%.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Business Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 767,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,036,000 after buying an additional 22,886 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $770,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV raised its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 24.5% during the third quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 40,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $890,000 after acquiring an additional 7,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Business Partners Company Profile

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. is a private equity firm specializing in acquisition. The firm typically invests in business services, infrastructure services, construction, energy, and industrials sector. It prefers to take majority stake in companies. The firm seeks returns of at least 15% on its investments.