Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $6.70.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AQN. Desjardins increased their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.25 to $6.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $6.50 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Natl Bk Canada raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, National Bankshares set a $7.50 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AQN. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 61,652,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $331,292,000 after purchasing an additional 4,888,235 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 3.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,744,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $181,377,000 after buying an additional 1,086,040 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 12.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 16,830,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $90,441,000 after buying an additional 1,863,459 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 88.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 13,112,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,137,000 after acquiring an additional 6,160,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,205,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,738,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808,539 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of AQN stock opened at $6.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -161.83 and a beta of 0.75. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 52 week low of $4.26 and a 52 week high of $6.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.89.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.03. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 1.11% and a positive return on equity of 5.14%. The company had revenue of $600.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $596.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently -650.00%.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (NYSE: AQN) is a diversified generation, transmission and distribution utility company headquartered in Oakville, Ontario. Established in 1988, the firm operates through two primary business segments: Regulated Utilities and Renewable Energy. Its Regulated Utilities segment comprises electric, natural gas and water distribution networks serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across North America, while its Renewable Energy portfolio includes hydroelectric, solar, wind and thermal generation facilities.

The company’s renewable energy assets span multiple jurisdictions in Canada and the United States, reflecting its strategy to expand clean power capacity in regions with supportive regulatory frameworks.