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

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $6.13.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AQN. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. CIBC decreased their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,882,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,236 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 17,190,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,918,000 after buying an additional 832,739 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 45.5% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 12,959,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,806,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054,711 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,720,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,105,000 after buying an additional 447,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,956,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,889 shares in the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AQN opened at $4.47 on Thursday. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 1-year low of $4.25 and a 1-year 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. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of -3.47 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.25.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $573.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.46 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.39 EPS 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 $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -20.16%.

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.