Brokerages Set Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (NYSE:BIP) Price Target at $41.63

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.6250.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $37.00 price target on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of BIP stock opened at $35.26 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $34.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.26 billion, a PE ratio of 52.62 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has a 1-year low of $25.72 and a 1-year high of $36.58.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.42). Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a return on equity of 2.74% and a net margin of 3.70%.The company had revenue of $5.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 256.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIP. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 10.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 31,975,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,051,678,000 after acquiring an additional 2,933,287 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 3.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 28,289,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $930,446,000 after purchasing an additional 926,167 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,969,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,303,000 after purchasing an additional 667,730 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 7,367,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,967,000 after purchasing an additional 431,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 6,756,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,701,000 after purchasing an additional 143,380 shares during the last quarter. 57.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE: BIP) is a publicly traded limited partnership that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets across four core sectors: utilities, transport, energy and data infrastructure. Through long-lived, regulated or contracted assets, Brookfield Infrastructure provides essential services such as electricity transmission and distribution, toll road and port operations, midstream energy logistics and fiber-based data networks.

The company’s utilities division encompasses regulated electricity and gas distribution networks in North and South America, Europe and Australia, ensuring stable cash flows under current regulatory frameworks.