Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 66,186 shares, an increase of 24.3% from the February 26th total of 53,249 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 44,018 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BBU. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Brookfield Business Partners from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Desjardins lifted their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce started coverage on 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Global Management LLC grew its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 151.1% in the fourth quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 189,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,664,000 after purchasing an additional 113,929 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 122,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 3,666 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Brookfield Business Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 59,309.7% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 215,063 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,596,000 after buying an additional 214,701 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Business Partners Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:BBU traded down $0.53 on Monday, hitting $31.60. The company had a trading volume of 153,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,425. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -121.55 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84. Brookfield Business Partners has a 1 year low of $18.63 and a 1 year high of $37.75.

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

Brookfield Business Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is -96.15%.

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.