Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Desjardins increased their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Business Partners has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.67.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Performance

NYSE BBU opened at $35.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -138.04 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.81. Brookfield Business Partners has a 1 year low of $18.63 and a 1 year high of $37.38.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $391,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Brookfield Business Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $3,373,000. Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new position in Brookfield Business Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $265,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,102,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,344,000 after acquiring an additional 14,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Business Partners Company Profile

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.