Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Price Target Raised to $6.00 at Raymond James

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) had its price target lifted by Raymond James from $5.00 to $6.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

AQN has been the subject of several other research reports. National Bank Financial cut Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.75 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $6.25 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.31.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AQN opened at $5.92 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 52 week low of $4.19 and a 52 week high of $6.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.59 and a beta of 0.67.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $692.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -15.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AQN. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 84.9% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 42,223,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $216,868,000 after buying an additional 19,392,805 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 40,886,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $181,473,000 after acquiring an additional 18,857,515 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the first quarter valued at $51,400,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at $31,508,000. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $35,735,000. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.