Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. experienced a significant 20.2% drop in short interest, with 18,370,000 shares sold short as of August 15, down from 23,020,000 shares at the end of July.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in Algonquin Power & Utilities, including Ariel Investments LLC, which grew its stake by 88.6%, acquiring over 13 million shares.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.065, yielding 4.6%, with the payment scheduled for October 15th to shareholders on record as of September 30th.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 18,370,000 shares, a decline of 20.2% from the July 31st total of 23,020,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 8,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 8,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $6.25 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. National Bankshares cut shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $6.75 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.34.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 74,271 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 16.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,809 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 2,073 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.6% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 23,484 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 2,242 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.7% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,887 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,256 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.2% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 114,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,085,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,637,232. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a one year low of $4.19 and a one year high of $6.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.10 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04. The firm had revenue of $535.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

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 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.44%.

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.