Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.47.

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Desjardins increased their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. National Bankshares boosted their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AQN. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1,975.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 4,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,950 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 76.3% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Seven Mile Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $70,000. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AQN opened at $5.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of -11.78 and a beta of 0.68. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a one year low of $4.90 and a one year high of $8.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $6.23 and a 200 day moving average of $6.16.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 12.44% and a positive return on equity of 5.39%. The company had revenue of $737.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $813.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.108 dividend. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -87.76%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company Profile

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.