Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM) Short Interest Up 19.2% in August

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) saw a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,460,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the August 15th total of 10,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 11.5 days. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Brookfield Asset Management Stock Performance

BAM stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.54. The stock had a trading volume of 643,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,316,209. The stock has a market cap of $20.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.31. Brookfield Asset Management has a 1-year low of $28.35 and a 1-year high of $45.75.

Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $916.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Brookfield Asset Management had a return on equity of 92.37% and a net margin of 51.29%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Brookfield Asset Management will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Asset Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Brookfield Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 140.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Brookfield Asset Management from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Brookfield Asset Management from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Brookfield Asset Management from $46.00 to $45.50 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Brookfield Asset Management from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Brookfield Asset Management from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brookfield Asset Management presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.81.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Brookfield Asset Management by 98.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 574.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 368.3% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.41% of the company’s stock.

About Brookfield Asset Management

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is a real estate investment firm specializing in alternative asset management services. Its renewable power and transition business includes the operates in the hydroelectric, wind, solar, distributed generation, and sustainable solution sector. The company's infrastructure business engages in the utilities, transport, midstream, and data infrastructure sectors.