Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Holdings Raised by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 66.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,433,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,843,000 after buying an additional 135,400 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,720,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,105,000 after acquiring an additional 447,246 shares in the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 116.7% in the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,621,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,214,000 after purchasing an additional 873,045 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,173,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $905,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

AQN opened at $5.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of -3.93 and a beta of 0.71. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1 year low of $4.19 and a 1 year high of $6.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last announced 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). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $584.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.73 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.12%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is presently -14.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AQN. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. National Bankshares decreased their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.94.

Algonquin Power & Utilities 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.