Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) to a sell rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Desjardins upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a sell rating to a hold rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $4.75 to $5.75 in a report on Monday, March 11th. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. National Bankshares decreased their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $7.25 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $7.78.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $5.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.97. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 1-year low of $4.90 and a 1-year high of $9.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 197.67 and a beta of 0.66.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 5.64%. The business had revenue of $666.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.73 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.49 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.1085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.32%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,433.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 720,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,188,000 after buying an additional 1,979 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 42,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 10,029 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $250,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 39.8% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 19,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 5,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 57,813.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 422,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,552,000 after purchasing an additional 421,457 shares in the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company Profile

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. operates in the power and utility industries in the United States, Canada, and other regions. The company operates in two segments, Regulated Services Group and Renewable Energy Group. The company primarily owns and operates a regulated electric, water distribution and wastewater collection, and natural gas utility systems and transmission operations.