Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $4.90 and last traded at $4.91, with a volume of 4298067 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated 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. Raymond James lowered shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $7.75 to $7.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.23.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.84. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.28 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.97.

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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is currently -53.06%.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AQN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,248,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $165,893,000 after buying an additional 262,333 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 3.4% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 10,565,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,759,000 after acquiring an additional 342,528 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position 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 worth $52,341,000 after purchasing an additional 5,426,523 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 320.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,273,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,633,000 after purchasing an additional 5,544,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 31.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,415,889 shares in the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.