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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $6.18.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AQN shares. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Desjardins reduced their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. CIBC dropped their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. National Bank Financial upgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $7.75 to $7.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AQN. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 320.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,273,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,633,000 after purchasing an additional 5,544,063 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 156.0% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 8,905,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,341,000 after buying an additional 5,426,523 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 851.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,765,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,797,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,124 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $12,361,000. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the third quarter worth about $11,997,000. Institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $4.76 on Wednesday. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 52 week low of $4.67 and a 52 week high of $6.79. 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 market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.69 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.61.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $573.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -20.16%.

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.