Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Stock Position Lowered by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 48.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 135,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 128,031 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter worth $58,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 149.6% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 17,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 10,190 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of AQN stock opened at $5.20 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.83. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a one year low of $4.19 and a one year high of $6.79. The firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.03 and a beta of 0.71. 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 (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.04). The company 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%. On average, analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AQN. National Bankshares lowered their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.94.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company 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.