Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $1.33 EPS

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The business services provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $1.33, Zacks reports. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 5.00% and a net margin of 2.20%.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Performance

BBU traded up $0.43 on Tuesday, hitting $21.96. 13,594 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,832. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.37. Brookfield Business Partners has a twelve month low of $16.85 and a twelve month high of $26.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of -44.81 and a beta of 1.50.

Brookfield Business Partners Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Brookfield Business Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -51.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BBU. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $32.60.

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.