Short Interest in Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Increases By 55.1%

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 31,800 shares, an increase of 55.1% from the January 15th total of 20,500 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 18,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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 boosted their price objective on 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, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brookfield Business Partners has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $32.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BBU. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Brookfield Business Partners during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. BBR Partners LLC acquired a new position in Brookfield Business Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $241,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,724 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448 shares during the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 31,501 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV grew its stake 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 valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 7,939 shares during the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Down 0.4 %

Brookfield Business Partners stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,093. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.55 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.66. Brookfield Business Partners has a fifty-two week low of $16.85 and a fifty-two week high of $26.75.

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 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, research analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. 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.