Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $39.07 and last traded at $38.90, with a volume of 1053894 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.13.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.91 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.42). Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a return on equity of 3.22% and a net margin of 4.40%.The company had revenue of $6.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is an increase from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s payout ratio is currently 191.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 544.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. 57.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE: BIP) is a publicly traded limited partnership that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets across four core sectors: utilities, transport, energy and data infrastructure. Through long-lived, regulated or contracted assets, Brookfield Infrastructure provides essential services such as electricity transmission and distribution, toll road and port operations, midstream energy logistics and fiber-based data networks.

The company’s utilities division encompasses regulated electricity and gas distribution networks in North and South America, Europe and Australia, ensuring stable cash flows under current regulatory frameworks.