Brookfield Co. (NYSE:BN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Brookfield Co. (NYSE:BN) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,210,000 shares, a growth of 28.0% from the February 28th total of 8,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Brookfield Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of BN stock opened at $54.38 on Thursday. Brookfield has a 1-year low of $38.18 and a 1-year high of $62.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $89.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 181.27 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.51 and a 200-day moving average of $56.31.

Brookfield (NYSE:BN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.13. Brookfield had a net margin of 0.75% and a return on equity of 3.93%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brookfield will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Brookfield’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 120.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BN. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its position in shares of Brookfield by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 10,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co raised its holdings in Brookfield by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 4,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Brookfield by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brookfield by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 1,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. 61.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on BN shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Brookfield from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Brookfield in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. CIBC boosted their price objective on Brookfield from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on Brookfield from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

About Brookfield

Brookfield Corporation is an alternative asset manager and REIT/Real Estate Investment Manager firm focuses on real estate, renewable power, infrastructure and venture capital and private equity assets. It manages a range of public and private investment products and services for institutional and retail clients.