ARS Investment Partners LLC Grows Stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

ARS Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 343,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,769 shares during the quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $1,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AQN shares. CIBC decreased their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.13.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $4.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.41 and a beta of 0.69. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $4.19 and a fifty-two week high of $6.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.59 and a 200 day moving average of $5.15.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is currently -20.15%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Profile

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. is an investment holding company, which engages in energy generation and water distribution facilities. It operates through the Regulated Services Group and Renewable Energy Group segments. The Regulated Services Group segment owns and operates a portfolio of electric, natural gas, water distribution, and wastewater collection utility systems and transmission.