The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 6.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,720,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 447,246 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $42,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $165,893,000 after acquiring an additional 262,333 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,882,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,236 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 10,565,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,759,000 after purchasing an additional 342,528 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 156.0% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 8,905,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,341,000 after buying an additional 5,426,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,956,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,989,000 after buying an additional 1,415,889 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 2.5 %

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $4.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.04 and a 200 day moving average of $5.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.78 and a beta of 0.68. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12-month low of $4.67 and a 12-month high of $6.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released 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). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. The firm had revenue of $573.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -20.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Desjardins lowered their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Raymond James lowered shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $7.75 to $7.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.18.

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.