Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on AQN. Scotiabank cut their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. National Bankshares cut their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $7.25 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. TD Securities upped their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Algonquin Power & Utilities from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their target price for the company from $7.00 to $7.50 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $7.67.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $6.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 218.00 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.01. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 1 year low of $4.90 and a 1 year high of $9.14.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $666.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.73 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 5.64%. The company’s revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.1085 per share. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,433.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AQN. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1,975.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 4,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,950 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 76.3% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $64,000. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.