Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

BBU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research note on Monday. National Bankshares upped their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Desjardins boosted their target price on Brookfield Business Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Brookfield Business Partners from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Business Partners has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.67.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:BBU opened at $35.89 on Tuesday. Brookfield Business Partners has a one year low of $18.63 and a one year high of $37.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.45 and a 200-day moving average of $31.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -138.04 and a beta of 1.31.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The business services provider reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($1.86). Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 2.67%. The business had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BBU. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 130,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,285,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 45,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC boosted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 236,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,377,000 after buying an additional 825 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 30,100.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners during the fourth quarter worth $71,000. 85.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brookfield Business Partners Company Profile

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE: BBU) is a publicly traded partnership sponsored by Brookfield Asset Management. The company focuses on acquiring and operating high-quality businesses across a range of industrial and service-oriented sectors. Through a partnership structure, Brookfield Business Partners seeks to provide investors with returns generated from stable, cash-flowing enterprises that benefit from Brookfield Asset Management’s global scale and operational expertise.

The company’s investment strategy centers on businesses within the industrial services, manufacturing, transportation, and business services segments.