Scotiabank Boosts Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Price Target to $32.00

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU - Free Report) had its target price upped by Scotiabank from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector outperform rating on the business services provider's stock.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $32.80.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

BBU traded up $0.20 on Tuesday, hitting $21.93. 6,630 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,082. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Brookfield Business Partners has a one year low of $16.85 and a one year high of $26.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.50.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $1.33. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 30.68%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from Brookfield Business Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Brookfield Business Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently 3.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBU. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake 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 worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 24.5% during the third quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 40,281 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 7,939 shares during the period. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,731,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.