Guardian Partners Inc. Takes Position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP)

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 98,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BIP. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 57.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Stock Performance

Shares of BIP opened at $28.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.93. The stock has a market cap of $13.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 717.55 and a beta of 1.10. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. has a 52 week low of $24.84 and a 52 week high of $36.50.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.58. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a return on equity of 1.17% and a net margin of 1.64%. On average, analysts expect that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.99%. This is a boost from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4,300.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BIP. StockNews.com raised Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.50.

About Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. owns and operates utilities, transport, midstream, and data businesses in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 2,900 km of electricity transmission lines; 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines; 8.1 million electricity and natural gas connections; and 0.6 million long-term contracted sub-metering services.