Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms Sector Perform Rating for Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN)

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $6.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $8.50 to $6.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $5.75 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. National Bank Financial upgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Desjardins cut their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, CIBC cut their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.75 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued 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, Algonquin Power & Utilities currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $6.30.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $5.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.20 and a beta of 0.66. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 1 year low of $4.90 and a 1 year high of $6.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.39 and a 200-day moving average of $5.90. 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 (NYSE:AQN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $598.60 million during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is -53.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

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.