Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.92.

Several equities research analysts have commented on AQN shares. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AQN opened at $5.27 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.02 and its 200 day moving average is $4.79. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 12-month low of $4.19 and a 12-month high of $6.79. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.09 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $584.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.73 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.44%.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AQN. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter worth $288,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 89.1% in the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 37,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 17,890 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,375,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,068,000 after acquiring an additional 125,000 shares in the last quarter. Packer & Co Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at about $23,197,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 40.4% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 285,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 82,200 shares in the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.