Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) saw a significant drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,500 shares, a drop of 5.9% from the March 31st total of 10,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

Brookfield Business Partners stock opened at $18.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $20.93 and its 200 day moving average is $19.17. Brookfield Business Partners has a one year low of $12.22 and a one year high of $23.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The business services provider reported $6.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $5.67. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 21.74% and a net margin of 6.86%. The company had revenue of $13.41 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 160,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 6,290 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position 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 worth $2,525,000 after buying an additional 6,700 shares in the last quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 304,114 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,427,000 after buying an additional 11,304 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 98,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,957,000 after buying an additional 11,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 13,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Brookfield Business Partners from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $26.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. National Bankshares boosted their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Business Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.67.

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.