The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 5,544,063 Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 320.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,273,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,544,063 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.95% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $42,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AQN. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 76.3% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the second quarter worth approximately $66,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AQN. Desjardins dropped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $8.50 to $6.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. CIBC dropped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $5.75 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.33.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $5.53 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of -11.29 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 52 week low of $4.90 and a 52 week high of $6.79.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $598.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.95 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a return on equity of 5.36% and a net margin of 4.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is currently -53.06%.

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.