Brokerages Set Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Target Price at $5.94

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.94.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AQN shares. National Bankshares reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,433,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,843,000 after purchasing an additional 135,400 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,720,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,105,000 after acquiring an additional 447,246 shares during 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 valued at $7,214,000 after acquiring an additional 873,045 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at $905,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,211,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,095,000 after purchasing an additional 206,490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 0.9 %

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $5.15 on Tuesday. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a twelve month low of $4.19 and a twelve month high of $6.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.99 and a beta of 0.71.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $584.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.73 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid 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 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.