Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Short Interest Up 14.5% in October

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,380,000 shares, a growth of 14.5% from the October 15th total of 16,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 151.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter worth approximately $4,887,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,248,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $165,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,333 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.5% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 10,223,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,050,000 after purchasing an additional 620,593 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.9% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,341,745 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,483,000 after purchasing an additional 74,935 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AQN opened at $4.82 on Monday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $5.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.69. The company has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of -3.74 and a beta of 0.68. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 12-month low of $4.67 and a 12-month high of $6.79.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $573.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.065 dividend. 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 5.39%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -20.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AQN. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Desjardins lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 lowered their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Raymond James lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $7.75 to $7.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. One equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.