Short Interest in Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Grows By 88.8%

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 45,700 shares, an increase of 88.8% from the August 15th total of 24,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 16,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Brookfield Business Partners Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BBU traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.10. 12,256 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,590. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.84. Brookfield Business Partners has a 12 month low of $12.22 and a 12 month high of $23.75.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The business services provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.95). The firm had revenue of $11.95 billion for the quarter. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 7.34%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Analysts predict that Brookfield Business Partners will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.92%.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Business Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 1.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 2.0% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 90,242 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,808 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 160,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 6,290 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 44.1% in 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 period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the second quarter worth approximately $307,000. 85.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Business Partners has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.40.

Brookfield Business Partners Company Profile

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.