Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Position in Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) by 64.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 63,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,755 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Brookfield Business Partners were worth $1,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBU. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 159,883 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,775,000 after acquiring an additional 62,299 shares during the period. Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 32,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Forge First Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. Forge First Asset Management Inc. now owns 532,964 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,538,000 after acquiring an additional 173,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,111,000. 85.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th.

Brookfield Business Partners Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE BBU opened at $20.39 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.03 and a 200-day moving average of $23.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. has a 12 month low of $16.85 and a 12 month high of $26.75. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.61 and a beta of 1.34.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $1.33. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 5.09%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.