Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) saw a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 43,100 shares, a drop of 16.3% from the November 30th total of 51,500 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 15,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:BBU traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.45. 14,684 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,708. Brookfield Business Partners has a fifty-two week low of $16.85 and a fifty-two week high of $26.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.79.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The business services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.39. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 30.68% and a net margin of 11.77%. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.063 per share. This is a positive change from Brookfield Business Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Brookfield Business Partners’s payout ratio is 3.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBU. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Brookfield Business Partners in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the second quarter worth about $307,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 7.4% in the 3rd 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 stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $770,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd raised its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 97.4% during the 2nd quarter. AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd now owns 45,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 22,200 shares during the last quarter. 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.