Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.50.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BIP. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Price Performance

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners stock opened at $28.65 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 716.33 and a beta of 1.10. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has a 12-month low of $24.84 and a 12-month high of $36.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.19.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.58. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a net margin of 1.64% and a return on equity of 1.17%. Equities analysts predict that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.00%. This is a positive change from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4,300.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.92% of the company’s stock.

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.