Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) Hits New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) shares hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after TD Securities lowered their price target on the stock from $68.00 to $64.00. TD Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. Brookfield Asset Management traded as low as $52.23 and last traded at $53.31, with a volume of 2435084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.82.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BAM. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Brookfield Asset Management from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Brookfield Asset Management from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Brookfield Asset Management from $62.50 to $58.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. HSBC upgraded Brookfield Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Brookfield Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Asset Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Asset Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $287,361,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Brookfield Asset Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,169,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Brookfield Asset Management by 103.4% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,997,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,507,000 after purchasing an additional 2,031,995 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Brookfield Asset Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,122,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,664,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $903,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359,126 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.41% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Asset Management Stock Down 0.1 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.83. The stock has a market cap of $87.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.63.

Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.01. Brookfield Asset Management had a net margin of 54.47% and a return on equity of 81.16%. Sell-side analysts predict that Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Brookfield Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Brookfield Asset Management’s payout ratio is currently 132.58%.

About Brookfield Asset Management

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is a real estate investment firm specializing in alternative asset management services. Its renewable power and transition business includes the operates in the hydroelectric, wind, solar, distributed generation, and sustainable solution sector. The company's infrastructure business engages in the utilities, transport, midstream, and data infrastructure sectors.