Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New $318,000 Investment in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 50,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AQN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 754.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,552,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,292,000 after purchasing an additional 13,731,305 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,322,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,936,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 13,293,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,699,000 after purchasing an additional 978,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestline Management LP grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 2,274,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,376,000 after purchasing an additional 874,642 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

AQN opened at $5.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $6.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.16. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1 year low of $4.90 and a 1 year high of $8.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.78 and a beta of 0.68.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $737.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $813.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors 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 is Friday, June 28th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently -87.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on AQN shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. National Bankshares upped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.47.

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.