Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.94.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AQN shares. National Bankshares dropped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AQN. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $954,000. LM Asset IM Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $8,455,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $1,226,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 13,051,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,852,000 after acquiring an additional 91,353 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 451.9% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 73,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 59,806 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

AQN stock opened at $5.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of -3.99 and a beta of 0.71. 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 has a one year low of $4.19 and a one year high of $6.79.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.04). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. The firm had revenue of $584.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.73 million. On average, analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.05%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.44%.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. is an investment holding company, which engages in energy generation and water distribution facilities. It operates through the Regulated Services Group and Renewable Energy Group segments. The Regulated Services Group segment owns and operates a portfolio of electric, natural gas, water distribution, and wastewater collection utility systems and transmission.