Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Short Interest Up 24.3% in March

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 66,186 shares, an increase of 24.3% from the February 26th total of 53,249 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 44,018 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 30,100.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $210,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 3rd quarter worth $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBU traded up $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.56. The company had a trading volume of 153,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 96,638. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $33.81 and its 200 day moving average is $33.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of -121.37 and a beta of 1.30. Brookfield Business Partners has a twelve month low of $18.63 and a twelve month high of $37.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The business services provider reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($1.86). The firm had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 2.67% and a net margin of 1.41%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 23rd. Brookfield Business Partners’s payout ratio is presently -96.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Brookfield Business Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce assumed coverage on Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Friday, February 27th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Finally, National Bank Financial lifted their target price on Brookfield Business Partners from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

About Brookfield Business Partners

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.