Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 611,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 33,142 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.08% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $2,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AQN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,510,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,845,000 after purchasing an additional 544,198 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $31,508,000. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 161.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 5,924,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,366,000 after buying an additional 3,656,840 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in 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 valued at $22,458,000 after buying an additional 402,500 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,730,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,539,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719,928 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE AQN opened at $5.06 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $4.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.79. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1-year low of $4.19 and a 1-year high of $6.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.92 and a beta of 0.65.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $584.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.73 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. Equities research analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.14%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AQN shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, National Bankshares cut their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.94.

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.