Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Shares Up 4%

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) shares shot up 4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $17.64 and last traded at $17.64. 7,584 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 13,803 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet downgraded Brookfield Business Partners from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Brookfield Business Partners from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Brookfield Business Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $30.33.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.92 and a 200 day moving average of $20.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.63). The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 21.64%. On average, analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.92%.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Business Partners

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.5% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,779,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $133,455,000 after acquiring an additional 128,970 shares during the period. Partners Value Investments L.P. grew its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Partners Value Investments L.P. now owns 2,941,062 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $60,527,000 after buying an additional 19,061 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 4.2% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 166,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,525,000 after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 160,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 6,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, K2 Principal Fund L.P. grew its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 58.3% during the 1st quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 156,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 57,553 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

About Brookfield Business Partners

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.