Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Brookfield Business Partners experienced a significant trading volume increase of 212%, with 77,637 shares traded on Thursday compared to 24,870 shares previously.
• Various research firms have issued mixed ratings on the stock; while Zacks downgraded it to a "strong sell," National Bank and others raised their price targets and maintained "outperform" and "buy" ratings.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.0625 per share, yielding 0.8%, with a notable debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90 and a market cap of $2.92 billion.

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 77,637 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 212% from the previous session's volume of 24,870 shares.The stock last traded at $32.81 and had previously closed at $33.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BBU. Wall Street Zen lowered Brookfield Business Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Desjardins boosted their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research lowered Brookfield Business Partners from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank set a $39.00 price target on Brookfield Business Partners and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.83.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.99. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -253.23 and a beta of 1.38.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Brookfield Business Partners's payout ratio is -192.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 30,100.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new position in Brookfield Business Partners during the second quarter valued at $391,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Brookfield Business Partners during the second quarter valued at $3,373,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 636.4% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 36,027 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 31,135 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.4% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,102,273 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,344,000 after buying an additional 14,981 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.

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