Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 45,875 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 162% from the previous session’s volume of 17,483 shares.The stock last traded at $36.71 and had previously closed at $35.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Brookfield Business Partners from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. National Bankshares raised their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $39.00 price objective on Brookfield Business Partners and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brookfield Business Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.50.

Brookfield Business Partners Trading Up 0.9%

The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.03 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Brookfield Business Partners’s payout ratio is currently -13.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BBU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 796.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 322,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,530,000 after buying an additional 286,872 shares during the period. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 1,338,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,786,000 after acquiring an additional 67,295 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 14.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 553,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,140,000 after acquiring an additional 69,657 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 0.6% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 130,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,285,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new position in Brookfield Business Partners during the third quarter worth about $221,000. 85.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brookfield Business Partners Company Profile

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE: BBU) is a publicly traded partnership sponsored by Brookfield Asset Management. The company focuses on acquiring and operating high-quality businesses across a range of industrial and service-oriented sectors. Through a partnership structure, Brookfield Business Partners seeks to provide investors with returns generated from stable, cash-flowing enterprises that benefit from Brookfield Asset Management’s global scale and operational expertise.

The company’s investment strategy centers on businesses within the industrial services, manufacturing, transportation, and business services segments.