Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Stock Price Up 9.7% - Should You Buy?

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) shares were up 9.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $5.95 and last traded at $5.89. Approximately 5,938,170 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 8,266,331 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AQN. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. CIBC lifted their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $6.25 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Securities boosted their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.31.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Down 1.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.53 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.91.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $692.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -15.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AQN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $139,845,000 after purchasing an additional 544,198 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.2% in 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 during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its stake in 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 worth $22,458,000 after buying an additional 402,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $990,000. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.