Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 30,125 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 27% from the previous session’s volume of 23,680 shares.The stock last traded at $36.1960 and had previously closed at $34.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BBU. Zacks Research raised Brookfield Business Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Scotiabank set a $39.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. National Bankshares lifted their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Brookfield Business Partners from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.08 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -13.89%.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Business Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BBU. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 0.6% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 130,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,285,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 30,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 44,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after buying an additional 2,276 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $318,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Business Partners Company Profile

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE: BBU) is a publicly traded partnership sponsored by Brookfield Asset Management. The company focuses on acquiring and operating high-quality businesses across a range of industrial and service-oriented sectors. Through a partnership structure, Brookfield Business Partners seeks to provide investors with returns generated from stable, cash-flowing enterprises that benefit from Brookfield Asset Management’s global scale and operational expertise.

The company’s investment strategy centers on businesses within the industrial services, manufacturing, transportation, and business services segments.