Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) to a sell rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AQN. TD Securities upped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. CIBC upped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised Algonquin Power & Utilities from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the company from $7.00 to $7.50 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. National Bankshares dropped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $7.25 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $7.85.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 1.5 %

AQN stock opened at $5.76 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 1-year low of $4.90 and a 1-year high of $9.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 191.83 and a beta of 0.66.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a return on equity of 5.64% and a net margin of 1.06%. The business had revenue of $666.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.1085 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.54%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,433.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 720,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,979 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 42,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 10,029 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 1st quarter worth about $250,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 39.8% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 19,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 5,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 57,813.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 422,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,552,000 after acquiring an additional 421,457 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.