Short Interest in Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Drops By 14.2%

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,700 shares, a drop of 14.2% from the February 28th total of 18,300 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBU. Brookfield Corp ON lifted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 1.7% in the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 25,602,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $596,538,000 after buying an additional 428,511 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 97,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 16,684 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 12,276.3% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 260,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,076,000 after purchasing an additional 258,662 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 117,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,731,000 after purchasing an additional 26,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,731,000. 85.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brookfield Business Partners Trading Down 6.0 %

NYSE:BBU opened at $22.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.56 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.50. Brookfield Business Partners has a 1 year low of $16.85 and a 1 year high of $26.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.50 and a 200-day moving average of $23.44.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $1.33. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 5.09%. Equities analysts predict that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Brookfield Business Partners’s payout ratio is -51.02%.

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.