Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.31.

Several research firms recently commented on AQN. National Bankshares cut Algonquin Power & Utilities from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $6.75 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Securities boosted their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Starboard Value LP raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 65,316,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $290,656,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175,000 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 84.9% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 42,223,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $216,868,000 after purchasing an additional 19,392,805 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 40,886,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $181,473,000 after purchasing an additional 18,857,515 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,715,401 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $162,859,000 after purchasing an additional 204,473 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 21,000,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,090,000 after purchasing an additional 117,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company's stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AQN opened at $5.86 on Friday. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a twelve month low of $4.19 and a twelve month high of $6.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of -4.54 and a beta of 0.67.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $692.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $699.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities's payout ratio is currently -16.77%.

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.

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