Lincluden Management Ltd. Makes New $22.34 Million Investment in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP $BIP

Key Points

• Lincluden Management Ltd. opened a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP), acquiring 643,160 shares worth about $22.34 million in Q4, equal to ~2.4% of Lincluden’s portfolio and roughly 0.14% ownership of BIP.
• Brookfield reported Q4 EPS of $0.45 (missing the $0.87 estimate) while revenue rose to $6.30 billion year-over-year, and it raised the quarterly dividend to $0.455 (annualized $1.82) for a ~5.1% yield though the dividend payout ratio is high at 202%.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $42.13, supported by multiple recent upgrades and raised targets.

Lincluden Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (NYSE:BIP - Free Report) TSE: BIP.UN during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 643,160 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $22,343,000. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners accounts for approximately 2.4% of Lincluden Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Lincluden Management Ltd. owned 0.14% of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,589 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. now owns 10,974 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 25,357 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 67,771 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,229,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 44,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.92% of the company's stock.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE BIP opened at $35.35 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP has a twelve month low of $28.91 and a twelve month high of $40.32. The company has a market cap of $16.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.28 and a beta of 1.11. The business's fifty day moving average is $37.05 and its 200 day moving average is $35.92.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP - Get Free Report) TSE: BIP.UN last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.42). Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a net margin of 4.40% and a return on equity of 3.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a positive change from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 202.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on BIP shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up from $55.00) on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.13.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Profile

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. NYSE: BIP is a publicly traded limited partnership that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets across four core sectors: utilities, transport, energy and data infrastructure. Through long-lived, regulated or contracted assets, Brookfield Infrastructure provides essential services such as electricity transmission and distribution, toll road and port operations, midstream energy logistics and fiber-based data networks.

The company's utilities division encompasses regulated electricity and gas distribution networks in North and South America, Europe and Australia, ensuring stable cash flows under current regulatory frameworks.

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