Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Shares Bought by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 25.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,250,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $5,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,433,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,843,000 after buying an additional 135,400 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,720,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,105,000 after acquiring an additional 447,246 shares during the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 116.7% in the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,621,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,214,000 after acquiring an additional 873,045 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,173,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $905,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, CIBC reduced their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.13.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AQN opened at $4.30 on Thursday. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a twelve month low of $4.19 and a twelve month high of $6.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.33 and a beta of 0.69.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $573.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.46 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is -20.16%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company Profile

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. is an investment holding company, which engages in energy generation and water distribution facilities. It operates through the Regulated Services Group and Renewable Energy Group segments. The Regulated Services Group segment owns and operates a portfolio of electric, natural gas, water distribution, and wastewater collection utility systems and transmission.