Cidel Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BIP. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the third quarter worth $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the third quarter valued at about $77,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the third quarter worth about $101,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at about $158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.92% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BIP opened at $33.25 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.01. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. has a 1-year low of $24.84 and a 1-year high of $36.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $15.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 831.46 and a beta of 1.08.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) last posted 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. This is an increase from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4,051.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BIP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.80.

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.