Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Lifted to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the stock from $7.00 to $7.50 in a report on Monday, January 8th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. National Bankshares reduced their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $7.25 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Desjardins raised Algonquin Power & Utilities from a sell rating to a hold rating and raised their target price for the stock from $4.75 to $5.75 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $7.67.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

NYSE AQN opened at $6.54 on Thursday. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 1 year low of $4.90 and a 1 year high of $9.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $6.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 218.00 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, March 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $666.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.1085 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.64%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 1,433.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,986,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $164,235,000 after acquiring an additional 268,800 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 754.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,552,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,292,000 after purchasing an additional 13,731,305 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 7.9% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 13,293,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,699,000 after buying an additional 978,758 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 10,226,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,521,000 after buying an additional 542,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,881,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,496,000 after buying an additional 616,049 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

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.