Brookfield Co. (NYSE:BN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Brookfield Co. (NYSE:BN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,760,000 shares, a growth of 27.3% from the February 13th total of 6,880,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Brookfield Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BN traded up $1.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $51.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,201,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,517,187. The stock has a market cap of $85.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 172.69 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.90. Brookfield has a one year low of $38.18 and a one year high of $62.78.

Brookfield (NYSE:BN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.13. Brookfield had a return on equity of 3.93% and a net margin of 0.75%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Brookfield will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Brookfield’s payout ratio is 120.00%.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in shares of Brookfield by 131.9% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 463,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,594,000 after purchasing an additional 263,375 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Brookfield by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 183,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,764,000 after buying an additional 9,915 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Brookfield by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,029,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,670,000 after buying an additional 591,757 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Brookfield by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,564,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,507,000 after acquiring an additional 351,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Partners Group Holding AG raised its stake in shares of Brookfield by 53.5% during the third quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 409,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,754,000 after acquiring an additional 142,603 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Brookfield from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Brookfield in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. TD Securities boosted their target price on Brookfield from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Brookfield from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brookfield presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

About Brookfield

Brookfield Corporation is an alternative asset manager and REIT/Real Estate Investment Manager firm focuses on real estate, renewable power, infrastructure and venture capital and private equity assets. It manages a range of public and private investment products and services for institutional and retail clients.