Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $6.33.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Raymond James lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $7.75 to $7.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $8.50 to $6.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. CIBC reduced their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 156.0% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 8,905,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,341,000 after purchasing an additional 5,426,523 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 754.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,552,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,292,000 after acquiring an additional 13,731,305 shares during the period. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.3% in the second quarter. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,575,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,090,000 after acquiring an additional 643,352 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,248,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $165,893,000 after acquiring an additional 262,333 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $318,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 1.7 %

AQN stock opened at $5.16 on Tuesday. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $4.90 and a fifty-two week high of $6.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $5.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.53 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is -53.06%.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

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.