Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Shares Gap Down to $18.34

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $18.34, but opened at $17.53. Brookfield Business Partners shares last traded at $17.53, with a volume of 100 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BBU. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Brookfield Business Partners from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. TheStreet lowered Brookfield Business Partners from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Brookfield Business Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Up 2.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.25.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.63). The firm had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 21.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BBU. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the third quarter worth about $476,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $618,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 50,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 15,344 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 19.3% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 81,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 13,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 59,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 20,891 shares during the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is currently 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.