Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $24.23 and last traded at $24.23, with a volume of 7739 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Business Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.40.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.07. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.45.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The business services provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.95). Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 7.34% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business had revenue of $11.95 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Brookfield Business Partners’s payout ratio is 3.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Brookfield Business Partners in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $307,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd boosted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 97.4% during the second quarter. AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd now owns 45,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $848,000 after buying an additional 22,200 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 35.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 88,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after buying an additional 23,258 shares during the period. Finally, K2 Principal Fund L.P. grew its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 58.3% during the first quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 156,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after buying an additional 57,553 shares during the period. 85.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.