Scotiabank Has Pessimistic Outlook of AQN FY2024 Earnings

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) – Scotiabank reduced their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank analyst R. Hope now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.38 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $0.44. Scotiabank has a “Sector Perform” rating and a $5.25 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Algonquin Power & Utilities’ current full-year earnings is $0.39 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Algonquin Power & Utilities’ FY2025 earnings at $0.28 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $0.35 EPS.

AQN has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Friday, October 11th. CIBC dropped 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 note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.13.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of AQN opened at $4.47 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 1-year low of $4.25 and a 1-year high of $6.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of -3.47 and a beta of 0.69.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $573.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $905,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 644,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,264,000 after purchasing an additional 60,946 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 382.0% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 82,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 65,663 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 12.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,179,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,808,000 after buying an additional 128,806 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 829,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,522,000 after buying an additional 206,603 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -20.16%.

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.