Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $26.07 and last traded at $25.71, with a volume of 15424 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brookfield Business Partners has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.40.

Brookfield Business Partners Trading Down 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.85.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The business services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 30.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from Brookfield Business Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Brookfield Business Partners’s payout ratio is presently 3.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brookfield Corp ON raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 1.7% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 25,602,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $596,538,000 after acquiring an additional 428,511 shares during the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 1,518,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,528,000 after buying an additional 188,743 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 834,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,193,000 after acquiring an additional 66,786 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 773,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,145,000 after acquiring an additional 92,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 14.7% during the third quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 641,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,047,000 after purchasing an additional 82,372 shares during the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Brookfield Business Partners

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.