Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Stock Price Up 3.4% - Time to Buy?

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) shot up 3.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.81 and last traded at $22.81. 9,082 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 14,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.07.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Up 6.1 %

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $23.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.84. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.48.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The business services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.063 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from Brookfield Business Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Brookfield Business Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BBU. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 2.0% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 90,242 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,701,000 after buying an additional 1,808 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Brookfield Business Partners in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Finally, Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 7,939 shares during the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.