Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Shares Sold by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lowered its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,895,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 126,937 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.25% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $8,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 50,251 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 3,096 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 935,130 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,141,000 after purchasing an additional 3,656 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 17,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 42,383 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 6,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 221,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 8,620 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AQN traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.27. 9,275,945 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,503,849. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.09 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $5.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12-month low of $4.19 and a 12-month high of $6.79.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.04). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. The firm had revenue of $584.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.73 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently -14.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AQN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC cut their price objective 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. National Bankshares lowered 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 research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $5.92.

Algonquin Power & Utilities 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.