Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Brookfield Business Partners shares gapped up to $26.00 following the announcement of a $0.0625 dividend, leading to a current yield of 1.0% and an annualized dividend of $0.25.
• Multiple brokerage firms have adjusted their price targets on BBU, with CIBC lowering it from $34.00 to $30.00, while Scotiabank raised it from $29.00 to $31.00, reflecting varied analyst outlooks.
• The company's most recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.12, which fell short of analysts' expectations by $0.14 and indicated a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97 and a market cap of $2.13 billion.

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $24.15, but opened at $26.00. Brookfield Business Partners shares last traded at $23.73, with a volume of 5,175 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Brookfield Business Partners's dividend payout ratio is -192.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BBU. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. CIBC decreased their price target on Brookfield Business Partners from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperformer" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Brookfield Business Partners from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Brookfield Business Partners from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Desjardins upped their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Business Partners has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.50.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of -195.52 and a beta of 1.38. 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 simple moving average is $25.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 41,994 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares in the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 72.5% in the 1st 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 boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 6.2% in the 1st 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. boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 58.2% during 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 during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 2.7% during 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.04% of the company's stock.

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.