Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 41,400 shares, an increase of 36.6% from the October 15th total of 30,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BBU shares. Desjardins set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. Credit Suisse Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Scotiabank set a $27.00 price objective on Brookfield Business Partners and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 22nd. National Bankshares dropped their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $28.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBU. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 40,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 6,905 shares during the last quarter. Forge First Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Forge First Asset Management Inc. now owns 471,183 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,704,000 after acquiring an additional 25,940 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in Brookfield Business Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $19,467,000. Brookfield Corp ON lifted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 27,286,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $508,073,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 293.7% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 8,662 shares during the period. 79.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Up 12.2 %

Shares of BBU opened at $16.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.77. Brookfield Business Partners has a 1 year low of $12.22 and a 1 year high of $22.53.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($1.05). Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 0.67%. The firm had revenue of $14.40 billion for the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be given a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. Brookfield Business Partners’s payout ratio is presently -624.84%.

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.