Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) gapped down before the market opened on Monday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $31.00. The stock had previously closed at $18.89, but opened at $18.48. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Brookfield Business Partners shares last traded at $18.87, with a volume of 725 shares.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on BBU. Scotiabank increased their price target on Brookfield Business Partners from $26.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. National Bankshares boosted their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Desjardins raised their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TheStreet cut Brookfield Business Partners from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Brookfield Business Partners currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $30.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 77.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 65,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 28,541 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at $476,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 166,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,525,000 after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 19.3% in the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 81,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 13,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 1.5% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,779,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $133,455,000 after acquiring an additional 128,970 shares in the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.44.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The business services provider reported $6.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $5.67. The firm had revenue of $13.41 billion for the quarter. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 7.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 3.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 3.92%.

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.