Squarepoint Ops LLC Has $332,000 Stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 100.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 28,332 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 707,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 18,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 4,428 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 25.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 5,863 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 139,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 6,642 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AQN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $8.50 to $6.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. CIBC cut their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. National Bank Financial raised Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.30.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AQN opened at $5.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.22 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1-year low of $4.90 and a 1-year high of $6.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.39 and its 200-day moving average is $5.90.

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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 162.50%.

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.