Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Position Raised by Man Group plc

Man Group plc boosted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 51.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,353,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,482,534 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned 0.57% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $19,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FIL Ltd grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 40,886,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $181,473,000 after buying an additional 18,857,515 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,510,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $139,845,000 after purchasing an additional 544,198 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 22,830,789 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $101,202,000 after purchasing an additional 5,640,705 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,140,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,217,000 after acquiring an additional 420,202 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $6.00 target price (up from $5.00) on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, National Bankshares decreased their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.03.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

AQN stock remained flat at $5.61 during trading on Tuesday. 12,446,393 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,938,233. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12-month low of $4.19 and a 12-month high of $6.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of -4.35 and a beta of 0.67.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $692.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -15.48%.

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.