K2 Principal Fund L.P. Invests $1.23 Million in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. $AQN

K2 Principal Fund L.P. acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 200,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 8.6% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 61,652,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $331,292,000 after purchasing an additional 4,888,235 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,456,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,871,000 after purchasing an additional 711,569 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,717,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,395,000 after purchasing an additional 3,886,254 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 65.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,205,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,738,000 after purchasing an additional 4,808,539 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $74,263,000. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE AQN opened at $5.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $6.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98 and a beta of 0.71. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1-year low of $5.32 and a 1-year high of $7.11.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $713.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.69 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 6.62%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 118.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AQN. Wall Street Zen lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.25 to $6.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.83.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Profile

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (NYSE: AQN) is a diversified generation, transmission and distribution utility company headquartered in Oakville, Ontario. Established in 1988, the firm operates through two primary business segments: Regulated Utilities and Renewable Energy. Its Regulated Utilities segment comprises electric, natural gas and water distribution networks serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across North America, while its Renewable Energy portfolio includes hydroelectric, solar, wind and thermal generation facilities.

The company’s renewable energy assets span multiple jurisdictions in Canada and the United States, reflecting its strategy to expand clean power capacity in regions with supportive regulatory frameworks.