Brookfield (NYSE:BN) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Brookfield (NYSE:BN) from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a change in outlook for the stock.
• The stock is currently trading with a target price consensus of $71.70 after various equities research firms updated their ratings, with eight firms issuing a buy rating.
• Brookfield announced a 3-for-2 stock split to take place on October 10th, which will provide additional shares to existing shareholders.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brookfield (NYSE:BN - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. CIBC dropped their price objective on Brookfield from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "outperformer" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Brookfield from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Brookfield in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Brookfield from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, National Bank Financial began coverage on Brookfield in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.44.

Brookfield Price Performance

Shares of BN traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.64. 2,073,896 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,645,384. Brookfield has a 1-year low of $43.61 and a 1-year high of $68.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.00 and a 200-day moving average of $57.81. The stock has a market cap of $108.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 152.74 and a beta of 1.70.

Brookfield's stock is set to split on the morning of Friday, October 10th. The 3-2 split was announced on Thursday, August 7th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Thursday, October 9th.

Brookfield (NYSE:BN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.44 billion. Brookfield had a net margin of 1.11% and a return on equity of 3.77%. Analysts expect that Brookfield will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brookfield by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,892,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,186,707,000 after buying an additional 988,419 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Brookfield by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 59,020,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,390,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,034 shares during the period. Pershing Square Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Brookfield by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Pershing Square Capital Management L.P. now owns 41,004,657 shares of the company's stock worth $2,149,054,000 after buying an additional 6,111,593 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Brookfield by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 24,584,311 shares of the company's stock worth $1,286,395,000 after buying an additional 354,171 shares during the period. Finally, Akre Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Brookfield by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,000,718,000 after purchasing an additional 124,842 shares during the period. 61.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Brookfield

Brookfield Corporation is an alternative asset manager and REIT/Real Estate Investment Manager firm focuses on real estate, renewable power, infrastructure and venture capital and private equity assets. It manages a range of public and private investment products and services for institutional and retail clients.