Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• BROOKFIELD BUSINESS PARTNERS has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating.
• Scotiabank raised its price target on the stock from $29.00 to $31.00, while CIBC and National Bankshares have lowered their price targets to $30.00 and $32.00 respectively.
• Approximately 85.04% of Brookfield’s stock is owned by hedge funds and institutional investors, indicating strong institutional interest.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

BBU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. National Bankshares dropped their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. CIBC decreased their target price on Brookfield Business Partners from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperformer" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Brookfield Business Partners in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Brookfield Business Partners from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

Shares of BBU traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.25. The stock had a trading volume of 36,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,147. Brookfield Business Partners has a 52 week low of $18.45 and a 52 week high of $27.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $25.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.69. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.25 and a beta of 1.32.

Brookfield Business Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Brookfield Business Partners's dividend payout ratio is -73.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 6.8% during the second quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 41,994 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,092,000 after buying an additional 2,685 shares in the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON grew its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 72.5% in the first quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 44,152,007 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,035,806,000 after purchasing an additional 18,549,503 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 6.2% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 104,106 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 6,090 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 58.2% in the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 342,906 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,030,000 after purchasing an additional 126,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 2.7% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 154,820 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,625,000 after purchasing an additional 4,032 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.