Scotiabank Boosts Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Price Target to $6.50

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) had its target price increased by Scotiabank from $6.00 to $6.50 in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

AQN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. CIBC decreased their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (up from $5.00) on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.75 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.31.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of AQN opened at $5.86 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.38 and its 200 day moving average is $4.93. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 12-month low of $4.19 and a 12-month high of $6.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.54 and a beta of 0.67.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. The business had revenue of $692.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -15.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AQN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,510,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $139,845,000 after acquiring an additional 544,198 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,303,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,219,000 after purchasing an additional 92,373 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 829,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,522,000 after purchasing an additional 206,603 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 5,052,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,458,000 after purchasing an additional 402,500 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $990,000. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.