Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Short Interest Update

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,030,000 shares, an increase of 36.6% from the February 28th total of 18,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 9,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 116.7% during the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,621,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,214,000 after buying an additional 873,045 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $905,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,211,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,095,000 after acquiring an additional 206,490 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,250,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,562,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 12.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,179,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,808,000 after purchasing an additional 128,806 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AQN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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 reduced their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.94.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE AQN traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $5.15. 9,125,455 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,871,130. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of -3.99 and a beta of 0.71. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 52 week low of $4.19 and a 52 week high of $6.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.83. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $584.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.73 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. Analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.05%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is -14.44%.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

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.