Legal & General Group Plc Has $42.73 Million Position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. $AQN

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,939,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 704,458 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $42,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AQN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 65.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,205,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,738,000 after purchasing an additional 4,808,539 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the second quarter worth approximately $85,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 8.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 240,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 18,752 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 15.9% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 120,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 16,552 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 465.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 106,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 87,276 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AQN. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $6.50 to $7.25 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.25 to $6.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.77.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

NYSE AQN opened at $5.90 on Friday. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12-month low of $5.32 and a 12-month high of $7.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.80 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.27.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 6.62% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The company had revenue of $713.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.18%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company Profile

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (NYSE: AQN) is a diversified generation, transmission and distribution utility company headquartered in Oakville, Ontario. Established in 1988, the firm operates through two primary business segments: Regulated Utilities and Renewable Energy. Its Regulated Utilities segment comprises electric, natural gas and water distribution networks serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across North America, while its Renewable Energy portfolio includes hydroelectric, solar, wind and thermal generation facilities.

The company’s renewable energy assets span multiple jurisdictions in Canada and the United States, reflecting its strategy to expand clean power capacity in regions with supportive regulatory frameworks.