Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.8333.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AQN. Barclays began coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. National Bank Financial cut their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $7.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Desjardins dropped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.25 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AQN opened at $5.86 on Thursday. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a twelve month low of $5.32 and a twelve month high of $7.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $6.06 and its 200 day moving average is $6.26. 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 company has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.61 and a beta of 0.71.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 6.62% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The company had revenue of $713.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,744,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $181,377,000 after buying an additional 1,086,040 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 77.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 398,318 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after buying an additional 174,118 shares in the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 863,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,312,000 after buying an additional 197,490 shares in the last quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 5,581,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,974,000 after buying an additional 740,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anson Funds Management LP lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 266.7% during the 3rd quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 1,100,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,911,000 after buying an additional 800,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

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.