Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 49,155 Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 17.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 237,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 49,155 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $1,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,211,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,095,000 after buying an additional 206,490 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 148.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 424,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,316,000 after acquiring an additional 253,917 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 40.7% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 147,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $810,000 after acquiring an additional 42,801 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 11.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of 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. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, December 12th. National Bankshares lowered their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.94.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of AQN opened at $5.15 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.83. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12 month low of $4.19 and a 12 month high of $6.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of -3.99 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. On average, analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.44%.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

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.