Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Receives $31.40 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBU traded down $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.10. The stock had a trading volume of 24,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,846. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.50. Brookfield Business Partners has a one year low of $16.85 and a one year high of $26.75. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $24.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The business services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from Brookfield Business Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Brookfield Business Partners's dividend payout ratio is 3.09%.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Business Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBU. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the second quarter worth $307,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $739,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,726 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the period. Finally, AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 97.4% during the second quarter. AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd now owns 45,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 22,200 shares in 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.