First Foundation Advisors Buys 1,400 Shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP)

First Foundation Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners were worth $2,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 57.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Trading Down 1.9 %

BIP traded down $0.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $28.80. 145,638 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 433,955. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.08. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. has a fifty-two week low of $24.84 and a fifty-two week high of $36.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of 720.18 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.97%. This is a positive change from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s payout ratio is 4,300.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Securities upped their price target on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.50.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Profile

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.