StockNews.com Upgrades Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. 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 price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. CIBC lowered their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective (up from $5.00) on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.03.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of AQN stock opened at $5.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 52-week low of $4.19 and a 52-week high of $6.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of -4.26 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.20 and its 200 day moving average is $4.83.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. The company had revenue of $692.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.74%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is presently -15.48%.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AQN. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 829,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,522,000 after acquiring an additional 206,603 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 644,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,264,000 after acquiring an additional 60,946 shares in the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 686,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,055,000 after acquiring an additional 28,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC boosted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 116.7% during the 4th quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,621,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,214,000 after acquiring an additional 873,045 shares in the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.