Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $36.12 and last traded at $36.11, with a volume of 102945 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. National Bank Financial raised Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a report on Thursday, November 20th. National Bankshares set a $35.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.43.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Trading Up 0.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a PE ratio of 721.42 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.42). Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 1.15%. The business had revenue of $5.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 256.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIP. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 44,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after buying an additional 4,860 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 9.7% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 174,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,201,000 after acquiring an additional 15,482 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 6.9% during the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 19,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Forge First Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 105.1% in the first quarter. Forge First Asset Management Inc. now owns 148,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,437,000 after acquiring an additional 76,300 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. boosted its position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 2.9% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 46,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.92% of the company’s stock.

About Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. owns and operates utilities, transport, midstream, and data businesses in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 2,900 km of electricity transmission lines; 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines; 8.1 million electricity and natural gas connections; and 0.6 million long-term contracted sub-metering services.