Natixis Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 105,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $469,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 13,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 3,343 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 935,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,141,000 after acquiring an additional 3,656 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 47,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 5,158 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 505,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 11.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 72,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. National Bankshares decreased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.94.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 0.3 %

AQN stock opened at $5.18 on Friday. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 52-week low of $4.19 and a 52-week high of $6.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.01 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.84.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $584.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.73 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.44%.

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.