Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Scotiabank Analyst Says

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) had its price objective boosted by Scotiabank from $32.00 to $33.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Business Partners has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.33.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Performance

BBU stock opened at $22.47 on Monday. Brookfield Business Partners has a 1-year low of $16.85 and a 1-year high of $26.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of -45.86 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $23.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.38.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $1.33. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 5.00% and a net margin of 2.20%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently -51.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BBU. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV increased its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 24.5% in the third quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 40,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 7,939 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Brookfield Business Partners during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 29.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 117,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,731,000 after purchasing an additional 26,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 7.4% in the third quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 31,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. 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.