EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. Purchases 5,640,705 Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 32.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,830,789 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,640,705 shares during the quarter. Algonquin Power & Utilities accounts for about 0.8% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. owned approximately 2.98% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $101,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AQN. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 50,251 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.4% in 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 period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 17,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 59.6% during the 4th quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,060 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 6,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 42,383 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 6,602 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AQN. Scotiabank raised their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $6.00 price target (up from $5.00) on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Monday. National Bankshares dropped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. CIBC decreased their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.03.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 4.4%

AQN traded down $0.27 on Monday, reaching $5.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,193,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,778,651. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.44 and a beta of 0.67. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1 year low of $4.19 and a 1 year high of $6.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business's 50 day moving average is $5.16 and its 200 day moving average is $4.82.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. The business had revenue of $692.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $699.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. 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 Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given 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 4.54%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's payout ratio is -15.48%.

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.