AGF Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 216,717 Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU)

AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 216,717 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,111,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BBU. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 117,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,731,000 after buying an additional 26,947 shares in the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 14.2% in the third quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 1,518,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,528,000 after acquiring an additional 188,743 shares in the last quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 14.7% during the third quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 641,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,047,000 after acquiring an additional 82,372 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 834,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,193,000 after purchasing an additional 66,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 773,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,145,000 after purchasing an additional 92,413 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BBU. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.33.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Performance

NYSE BBU opened at $22.08 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.05 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. has a 1 year low of $16.85 and a 1 year high of $26.75.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $1.33. Brookfield Business Partners had a return on equity of 5.09% and a net margin of 2.20%. As a group, research analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently -51.02%.

Brookfield Business Partners Profile

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.