Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Securities lifted their target price on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.80.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Stock Performance

BIP stock opened at $32.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has a twelve month low of $24.84 and a twelve month high of $36.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.79 and its 200-day moving average is $32.97. The company has a market cap of $14.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 801.10 and a beta of 1.08.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.58. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a net margin of 1.64% and a return on equity of 1.17%. Equities research analysts forecast that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,051.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 57.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. owns and operates utilities, transport, midstream, and data businesses in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 2,900 km of electricity transmission lines; 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines; 8.1 million electricity and natural gas connections; and 0.6 million long-term contracted sub-metering services.