Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Given New $32.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) had its target price raised by Scotiabank from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Separately, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.80.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

Brookfield Business Partners stock opened at $21.94 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.17. Brookfield Business Partners has a 1 year low of $16.85 and a 1 year high of $26.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.50.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last announced 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. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 30.68% and a net margin of 11.77%. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from Brookfield Business Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Brookfield Business Partners’s payout ratio is currently 3.09%.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Business Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Brookfield Business Partners during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 7.4% during the third quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 31,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $739,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $770,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV raised its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 40,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 7,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Brookfield Business Partners during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,731,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

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.