Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Shares Up 3.4% – Should You Buy?

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) shares shot up 3.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.81 and last traded at $22.81. 9,082 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 14,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.07.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Up 6.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The business services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 30.68% and a net margin of 11.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.063 dividend. This is a boost from Brookfield Business Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBU. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Brookfield Business Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 7.4% during the third quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 31,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd lifted its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 97.4% in the second quarter. AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd now owns 45,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 22,200 shares during the period. 85.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.