PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP)

PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. lowered its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 584,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 61,520 shares during the quarter. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners makes up approximately 6.3% of PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. owned 0.13% of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners worth $18,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BIP. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 2.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,809,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $834,282,000 after purchasing an additional 616,373 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the third quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, Colonial River Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Institutional investors own 57.92% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Stock Performance

Shares of BIP opened at $28.65 on Friday. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. has a one year low of $24.84 and a one year high of $36.50. The company has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a PE ratio of 716.33 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.17 and a 200-day moving average of $33.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.58. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a return on equity of 1.17% and a net margin of 1.64%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.00%. This is a positive change from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4,300.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James increased their price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Securities upped their price target on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Profile

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.