Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BAM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Brookfield Asset Management from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Brookfield Asset Management from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. HSBC raised shares of Brookfield Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Brookfield Asset Management from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Asset Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.38.

Brookfield Asset Management Stock Performance

NYSE BAM opened at $49.52 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.27. Brookfield Asset Management has a one year low of $37.29 and a one year high of $62.61. The company has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.50.

Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.01. Brookfield Asset Management had a net margin of 54.47% and a return on equity of 81.16%. Equities analysts expect that Brookfield Asset Management will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Asset Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Brookfield Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Brookfield Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 132.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Asset Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BAM. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Brookfield Asset Management by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,646,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,064,983,000 after buying an additional 447,642 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,901,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $916,676,000 after acquiring an additional 263,660 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,664,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $903,323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359,126 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Brookfield Asset Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,116,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $873,354,000 after purchasing an additional 116,008 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Brookfield Asset Management by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 15,369,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $833,581,000 after purchasing an additional 574,978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.41% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Asset Management Company Profile

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is a real estate investment firm specializing in alternative asset management services. Its renewable power and transition business includes the operates in the hydroelectric, wind, solar, distributed generation, and sustainable solution sector. The company's infrastructure business engages in the utilities, transport, midstream, and data infrastructure sectors.