BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Stock Price

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) had its price target increased by BMO Capital Markets from $32.00 to $34.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

Shares of BBU opened at $22.10 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.03. Brookfield Business Partners has a 1-year low of $16.85 and a 1-year high of $26.75. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.50.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The business services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.39. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 30.68% and a net margin of 11.77%. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.063 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is 3.09%.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Business Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brookfield Corp ON grew its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 25,602,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $596,538,000 after buying an additional 428,511 shares during the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 14.2% in the third quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 1,518,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,528,000 after purchasing an additional 188,743 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 8.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 834,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,193,000 after purchasing an additional 66,786 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 13.6% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 773,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,145,000 after purchasing an additional 92,413 shares during the period. Finally, Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 641,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,047,000 after purchasing an additional 82,372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.