Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. Increases Dividend to $0.43 Per Share

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 31st. Investors who are on the record as of Friday, February 28th, will receive a dividend of $0.43 per share from the utilities provider on Monday, March 31st. This increase reflects an annualized dividend of $1.72 and a yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date for this payment will also be Friday, February 28th. This represents a boost from Brookfield's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41.

Dividend Growth

Over the past three years, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has increased its dividend by an average of 6.0% annually. However, it currently has a high payout ratio of 121.8%, indicating that the company is not able to fully cover its dividend payments with earnings and is depending on its balance sheet for funding. Analysts predict earnings of $3.44 per share for the next year, which should allow the company to support its annual dividend of $1.62, resulting in a more manageable future payout ratio of 47.1%.

Stock Performance

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners' stock experienced a decline of 2.4% during trading, reaching $32.78. The trading volume for the day was 268,717 shares, which is less than its average volume of 355,550. In the past year, the stock has fluctuated between a low of $24.84 and a high of $36.50. The company's 50-day moving average stands at $32.83, while the 200-day moving average is $32.93. Currently, the company has a market capitalization of $15.21 billion, a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, along with a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Recent Earnings Results

On January 30th, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners released its latest quarterly earnings report, revealing earnings of $0.82 per share. This result exceeded the consensus estimate of $0.24 by a substantial $0.58. The company has shown a return on equity of 0.02% and a net margin of 0.03%. Analysts expect the company to post earnings of $3.09 per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has recently been reviewed by various research analysts. StockNews.com downgraded its rating from "hold" to "sell" as of January 24th. In contrast, TD Securities upgraded their target price from $49.00 to $50.00 and maintained a "buy" rating. Raymond James also raised their price target from $44.00 to $46.00 with a "strong buy" rating. The Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating with a target price of $40.00. Currently, one analyst rates the stock as "sell," while four analysts recommend a "buy" and two suggest a "strong buy," leading to an average rating of "buy" and a target price estimate of $42.20.

About the Company

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. specializes in owning and operating essential infrastructure assets. With operations spanning across utilities, transportation, midstream, and data businesses, its assets are located in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. The utilities segment alone includes approximately 2,900 km of electricity transmission lines and 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines.

dividend, investors, stocks