Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $22.77, but opened at $21.53. Brookfield Business Partners shares last traded at $22.45, with a volume of 1,415 shares changing hands.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Down 1.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.92 and its 200-day moving average is $21.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The business services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.39. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 30.68%. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from Brookfield Business Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Brookfield Business Partners’s payout ratio is currently 3.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookfield Corp ON raised its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 25,602,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $596,538,000 after acquiring an additional 428,511 shares during the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 1,518,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,528,000 after acquiring an additional 188,743 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 8.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 834,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,193,000 after purchasing an additional 66,786 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 13.6% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 773,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,145,000 after purchasing an additional 92,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 14.7% during the third quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 641,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,047,000 after purchasing an additional 82,372 shares during the period. 85.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.