PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. Sells 278,790 Shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (NYSE:BIP)

Key Points

• PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. has significantly reduced its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 47.7%, now holding 305,430 shares valued at approximately $9.09 million.
• Despite the reduction from PCJ, several other investors, including MGO One Seven LLC and TIAA Trust National Association, have increased their investments in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with a recent upgrade to "hold" from Wall Street Zen, while Citigroup lowered the price target from $34 to $31, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (NYSE:BIP - Free Report) TSE: BIP.UN by 47.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305,430 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 278,790 shares during the period. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners comprises about 3.6% of PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners worth $9,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BIP. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the first quarter worth $35,000. Parallel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 565.6% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,243 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 85.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 7,105 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. 57.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BIP has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.67.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $30.14. 770,414 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 465,851. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP has a 52-week low of $25.72 and a 52-week high of $36.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 602.92 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.62 and a 200-day moving average of $31.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP - Get Free Report) TSE: BIP.UN last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.01). Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a return on equity of 1.15% and a net margin of 1.54%. The business had revenue of $5.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently 3,440.00%.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Company Profile

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. owns and operates utilities, transport, midstream, and data businesses in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 2,900 km of electricity transmission lines; 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines; 8.1 million electricity and natural gas connections; and 0.6 million long-term contracted sub-metering services.