Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) Price Target Lowered to $30.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 42.05% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on BBU. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brookfield Business Partners presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.60.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Performance

BBU traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $21.12. 8,398 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,600. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.07 and a beta of 1.50. Brookfield Business Partners has a 1-year low of $16.85 and a 1-year high of $26.75. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $1.33. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 5.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brookfield Business Partners will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Business Partners

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBU. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Brookfield Business Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,731,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 29.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 117,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,731,000 after purchasing an additional 26,947 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 12,276.3% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 260,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,076,000 after purchasing an additional 258,662 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 97,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,274,000 after buying an additional 16,684 shares during the period. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON lifted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 25,602,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $596,538,000 after buying an additional 428,511 shares in the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Brookfield Business Partners

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.