Keynote Financial Services LLC Makes New Investment in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 44,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AQN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 754.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,552,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,292,000 after acquiring an additional 13,731,305 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,322,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 851.0% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,765,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,797,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,124 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,924,000. Finally, Crestline Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 2,274,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,376,000 after acquiring an additional 874,642 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

NYSE AQN traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $6.16. The company had a trading volume of 5,293,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,789,250. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of -12.56 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.10. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a twelve month low of $4.90 and a twelve month high of $7.95.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.39% and a negative net margin of 12.44%. The business had revenue of $737.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $813.38 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.108 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.01%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -87.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. CIBC boosted their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $7.70 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, National Bankshares boosted their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.06.

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.