Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Short Interest Update

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,800 shares, a drop of 37.7% from the January 31st total of 31,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 18,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Business Partners

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brookfield Corp ON increased its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 1.7% in the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 25,602,504 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $596,538,000 after buying an additional 428,511 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,718,131 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $180,759,000 after acquiring an additional 64,007 shares during the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 1,618,655 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,041,000 after purchasing an additional 99,763 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,020,778 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,506,000 after purchasing an additional 22,713 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 928,564 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,871,000 after purchasing an additional 94,052 shares during the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on BBU. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $32.33.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

Shares of BBU traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.59. The stock had a trading volume of 7,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,813. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.18 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Brookfield Business Partners has a 12-month low of $16.85 and a 12-month high of $26.75. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.07 and its 200 day moving average is $23.01.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $1.33. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 5.09% and a net margin of 2.20%. On average, equities analysts predict that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Brookfield Business Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently -51.02%.

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.