Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $6.13.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. CIBC dropped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Friday, October 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 12,959,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,806,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054,711 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 161.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 5,924,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,366,000 after buying an additional 3,656,840 shares in the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $11,997,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,173,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,882,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,236 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:AQN opened at $4.45 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.45 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4.52 and a 200 day moving average of $5.04. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 52-week low of $4.19 and a 52-week high of $6.79.

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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.85%. 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.