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 Thursday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on AQN. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $7.00 to $7.50 in a report on Monday, January 8th. National Bankshares reduced their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $7.25 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Desjardins upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a sell rating to a hold rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $4.75 to $5.75 in a report on Monday, March 11th. CIBC boosted their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $7.67.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:AQN opened at $6.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 217.83 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.01. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 12 month low of $4.90 and a 12 month high of $9.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $666.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.73 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 5.64%. The business’s revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.1085 dividend. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 1,433.33%.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter worth about $76,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 31.8% in the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 18,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 4,428 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 151.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 63.0% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 289,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 111,993 shares during the period. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 38.8% in the first quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 705,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,457,000 after acquiring an additional 197,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

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.