Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Short Interest Update

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of 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. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 15,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

BBU opened at $18.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.20. Brookfield Business Partners has a 1 year low of $12.22 and a 1 year high of $23.75.

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

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBU. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co boosted its holdings 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 65,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $991,000 after buying an additional 28,541 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 3rd quarter worth about $476,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 4.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 81,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 13,155 shares during the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBU has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $26.50 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. National Bankshares lifted their price target 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. TheStreet downgraded shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Desjardins lifted their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.