Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at National Bank Financial

National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Zacks.com reports. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Algonquin Power & Utilities’ Q3 2024 earnings at $0.11 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $0.47 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $0.45 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut Algonquin Power & Utilities from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lowered their target price for the company from $8.50 to $6.00 in a report on Monday. Raymond James lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their price target for the company from $7.75 to $7.00 in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised Algonquin Power & Utilities to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. CIBC reduced their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Desjardins reduced their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $6.36.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $5.20 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.95 and a 200 day moving average of $6.08. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 12 month low of $4.90 and a 12 month high of $7.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.61 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.39% and a negative net margin of 12.44%. The company had revenue of $598.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.95 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.08 EPS. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -53.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth about $298,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 320.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,273,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,633,000 after buying an additional 5,544,063 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,575,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,090,000 after buying an additional 643,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 100.3% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 56,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 28,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

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.