Short Interest in Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Decreases By 16.3%

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 43,100 shares, a drop of 16.3% from the November 30th total of 51,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,726 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 90,242 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,701,000 after buying an additional 1,808 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 7.4% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV raised its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 40,281 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 7,939 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.04% of the company's stock.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

Shares of BBU stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.45. 14,684 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,708. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $23.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.79. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Brookfield Business Partners has a 1-year low of $16.85 and a 1-year high of $26.75.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The business services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 30.68%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. This is a positive change from Brookfield Business Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Brookfield Business Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 3.09%.

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.