Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 26,074 Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 315,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,074 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $1,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 76.3% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Seven Mile Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AQN. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $8.50 to $6.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. National Bankshares boosted their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $5.75 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.33.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of AQN stock opened at $5.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.12 and a beta of 0.67. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a one year low of $4.90 and a one year high of $7.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued 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 net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 5.36%. The business had revenue of $598.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.95 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.74%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is -89.80%.

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.