Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $6.5909.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AQN shares. Janney Montgomery Scott set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Monday, November 10th. TD Securities raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Desjardins increased their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.25 to $6.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AQN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 16.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 2,073 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 156,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 28,175 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 200,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 22,200 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 544,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,794,000 after purchasing an additional 28,909 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 243.5% during the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 89,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 63,584 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE AQN opened at $6.11 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.78. The company has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 0.75. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 1-year low of $4.19 and a 1-year high of $6.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $600.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $596.67 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 57.66%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -650.00%.

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.