Short Interest in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) Declines By 7.8%

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a decrease of 7.8% from the November 15th total of 1,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 322,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 2.7% in the 3rd 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. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,147,654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,680,000 after purchasing an additional 257,587 shares in the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management raised its holdings in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 35.0% in the second quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 4,341,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,180,000 after buying an additional 1,125,964 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 29.6% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,202,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,326,000 after buying an additional 960,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 24.6% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,003,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,273,000 after buying an additional 790,078 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.92% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of BIP stock traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $32.33. 91,872 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 422,998. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has a 1 year low of $24.84 and a 1 year high of $36.50. The firm has a market cap of $14.93 billion, a PE ratio of -86.11 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.01%. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -426.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.20.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Company 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.