Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Hits New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $36.90 and last traded at $33.83, with a volume of 53363 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.71.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently -13.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBU has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank set a $39.00 price objective on Brookfield Business Partners and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Brookfield Business Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. National Bankshares increased their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.50.

Brookfield Business Partners Trading Down 9.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.98 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 30,100.0% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd bought a new position in Brookfield Business Partners in the 3rd quarter worth about $318,000. Rathbones Group PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $265,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $391,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 11.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 19,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,078 shares in the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.