Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.07 (NYSE:AQN)

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 9th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of 0.065 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 16.8% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a payout ratio of 75.0% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings tumble. Equities research analysts expect Algonquin Power & Utilities to earn $0.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.27 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 87.1%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 9.7%

AQN stock traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.99. The stock had a trading volume of 27,246,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,748,749. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.64 and a beta of 0.67. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a one year low of $4.19 and a one year high of $6.75. The company's 50 day moving average is $5.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.82.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $692.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.08 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AQN shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. National Bankshares lowered their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.92.

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.