Desjardins Issues Optimistic Estimate for BBU Earnings

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) – Desjardins raised their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, November 10th. Desjardins analyst G. Ho now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $5.38 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $4.23. The consensus estimate for Brookfield Business Partners’ current full-year earnings is $5.43 per share.

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.40.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

NYSE:BBU opened at $24.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.66 and a 200-day moving average of $20.54. Brookfield Business Partners has a 52 week low of $14.71 and a 52 week high of $25.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.24.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The business services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.39. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 30.68%. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.063 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. This is a boost from Brookfield Business Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 1,518,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,528,000 after acquiring an additional 188,743 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 8.7% in the third 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. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 12.7% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 681,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,910,000 after purchasing an additional 77,017 shares during the last quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 14.7% in the third quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 641,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,047,000 after buying an additional 82,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, K2 Principal Fund L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 58.3% in the first quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 156,353 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after buying an additional 57,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

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.