Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Declares $0.07 Quarterly Dividend

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 9th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of 0.065 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th.

Algonquin Power & Utilities has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 10.7% per year over the last three years. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a payout ratio of 70.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Algonquin Power & Utilities to earn $0.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 70.3%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AQN opened at $5.53 on Friday. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 12-month low of $4.90 and a 12-month high of $6.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.29 and a beta of 0.67.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $598.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.95 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 5.36%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Desjardins dropped their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $5.75 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $8.50 to $6.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 price target for the company. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.33.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company Profile

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. operates in the power and utility industries in the United States, Canada, and other regions. The company operates in two segments, Regulated Services Group and Renewable Energy Group. The company primarily owns and operates a regulated electric, water distribution and wastewater collection, and natural gas utility systems and transmission operations.