Brookfield Business Partners L.P. $BBU Holdings Boosted by PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.

PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,338,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 67,295 shares during the period. Brookfield Business Partners accounts for 12.2% of PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. owned 1.51% of Brookfield Business Partners worth $43,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 2nd quarter worth $265,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 1.4% during 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 636.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 36,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 31,135 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the second quarter valued at about $3,373,000. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new stake in Brookfield Business Partners during the second quarter worth about $391,000. 85.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

Shares of BBU opened at $33.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.44. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of -128.65 and a beta of 1.30. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. has a 1-year low of $18.63 and a 1-year high of $37.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce began coverage on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Desjardins raised their target price on Brookfield Business Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

About Brookfield Business Partners

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.