Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Short Interest Up 23.1% in June

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 27,700 shares, an increase of 23.1% from the May 31st total of 22,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Brookfield Business Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at about $476,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $618,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 50,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after buying an additional 15,344 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 19.3% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 81,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 13,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 59,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 20,891 shares in the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on BBU shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. TheStreet cut shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Brookfield Business Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $30.33.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

Shares of BBU traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $18.76. The company had a trading volume of 11,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,777. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.30. Brookfield Business Partners has a 12-month low of $12.22 and a 12-month high of $23.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.48.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.63). Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 21.64%. The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter. Research analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.92%.

About Brookfield Business Partners

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.