Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective (up previously from $5.00) on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Monday, May 12th. CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.03.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 0.4%

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $5.50 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 12-month low of $4.19 and a 12-month high of $6.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.26 and its 200 day moving average is $4.86. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of -4.26 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 1,250,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,562,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,303,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,219,000 after purchasing an additional 92,373 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 829,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,522,000 after purchasing an additional 206,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 8.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company Profile

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.