Raymond James Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) Stock

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) had its target price raised by Raymond James from $44.00 to $46.00 in a research note published on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a strong-buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Securities boosted their target price on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $42.75.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE BIP opened at $33.57 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -88.33 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.93. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has a 1 year low of $24.84 and a 1 year high of $36.50.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.58. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a net margin of 0.03% and a return on equity of 0.02%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -426.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. 57.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

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.