Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Share Price Passes Below 50-Day Moving Average of $21.45

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU)’s share price crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.45 and traded as low as $19.14. Brookfield Business Partners shares last traded at $19.34, with a volume of 15,645 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BBU. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $26.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Desjardins upped their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $29.67.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $21.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.90.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The business services provider reported $6.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $5.67. The business had revenue of $13.41 billion for the quarter. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 21.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBU. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,337,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,399,000 after acquiring an additional 33,160 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 365.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,163 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 38,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $820,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 184.0% in the 2nd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 20,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 13,187 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

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.