Short Interest in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Increases By 14.5%

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,380,000 shares, a growth of 14.5% from the October 15th total of 16,920,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 6,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AQN traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $4.80. The stock had a trading volume of 363,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,606,910. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.74 and a beta of 0.68. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 52 week low of $4.67 and a 52 week high of $6.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.14 and its 200 day moving average is $5.69. 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 (NYSE:AQN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $573.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.46 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently -20.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AQN has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. National Bank Financial upgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. Raymond James cut Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $7.75 to $7.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.18.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Krilogy Financial LLC raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.3% during the second quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 707,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,143,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 14.1% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 17,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 13,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 3,343 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 4.1% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 12.3% during the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 47,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 5,158 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.