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

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $5.50 to $6.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "sector perform" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.90% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AQN. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday. National Bankshares dropped their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, CIBC cut their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.03.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Down 3.6%

NYSE:AQN traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $5.78. 7,054,424 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,747,602. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.82. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a one year low of $4.19 and a one year high of $6.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.48 and a beta of 0.67.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $692.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $699.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FIL Ltd grew its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 40,886,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $181,473,000 after purchasing an additional 18,857,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,508,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 32.8% in 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 during the period. Packer & Co Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $23,197,000. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 161.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 5,924,983 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,366,000 after purchasing an additional 3,656,840 shares during the period. 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.

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