Raymond James Trust N.A. Boosts Position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,343 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 320.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,273,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,633,000 after purchasing an additional 5,544,063 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 156.0% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 8,905,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,341,000 after acquiring an additional 5,426,523 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 851.0% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,765,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,797,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,124 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,361,000. Finally, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 79.8% in the 2nd quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP now owns 4,634,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056,534 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

AQN stock opened at $4.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of -3.78 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.59. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12-month low of $4.67 and a 12-month high of $6.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $573.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.46 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.33%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -20.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Desjardins decreased their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, CIBC dropped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned 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.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.18.

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.