Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Price Target Raised to $6.00

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Raymond James from $5.00 to $6.00 in a report published on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $6.75 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $6.00 target price (up from $5.00) on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.31.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:AQN traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $5.86. The stock had a trading volume of 13,506,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,564,377. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 1 year low of $4.19 and a 1 year high of $6.36. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $5.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $692.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -15.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,510,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $139,845,000 after acquiring an additional 544,198 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,303,614 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,219,000 after purchasing an additional 92,373 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 829,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,522,000 after purchasing an additional 206,603 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 5,052,789 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,458,000 after purchasing an additional 402,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $990,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company's stock.

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.