Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $34.46, but opened at $33.30. Brookfield Business Partners shares last traded at $34.5320, with a volume of 4,765 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Scotiabank set a $39.00 target price on Brookfield Business Partners and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Up 2.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.65. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of -19.52 and a beta of 1.31.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 30,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the third quarter worth about $221,000. Rathbones Group PLC purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the second quarter worth about $265,000. Cumberland Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at about $318,000. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new stake in Brookfield Business Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $391,000. 85.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.