Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the twelve analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.4091.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AQN shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 4th. TD Securities raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Desjardins upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.25 to $6.75 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Down 0.2%

AQN stock opened at $5.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.22 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.61. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 52 week low of $4.19 and a 52 week high of $6.24.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04. The business had revenue of $535.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $535.64 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 57.66%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 29th. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently -14.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 84.9% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 42,223,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $216,868,000 after buying an additional 19,392,805 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $51,400,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,370,000. Ariel Investments LLC purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,735,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,205,756 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,738,000 after buying an additional 4,808,539 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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