Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. $AQN Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 704,458 shares and leaving it with 6.94 million shares worth about $42.7 million.
• Algonquin Power & Utilities reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.13 per share on revenue of $713.69 million, while analysts now expect full-year EPS of 0.36.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share, implying a 4.4% annual yield, though its payout ratio is elevated at 118.18%.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,939,528 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 704,458 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.90% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $42,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,744,586 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $181,377,000 after buying an additional 1,086,040 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 398,318 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 174,118 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,253,612 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,491,000 after purchasing an additional 75,266 shares during the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 863,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,312,000 after purchasing an additional 197,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callodine Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 5,581,841 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,974,000 after purchasing an additional 740,872 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company's stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $5.90 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $6.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.27. The company has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.80 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $5.32 and a fifty-two week high of $7.11.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $713.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.69 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 6.62% and a return on equity of 5.21%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AQN. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $6.50 to $7.25 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. National Bank Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $7.25 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.77.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp NYSE: AQN is a diversified generation, transmission and distribution utility company headquartered in Oakville, Ontario. Established in 1988, the firm operates through two primary business segments: Regulated Utilities and Renewable Energy. Its Regulated Utilities segment comprises electric, natural gas and water distribution networks serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across North America, while its Renewable Energy portfolio includes hydroelectric, solar, wind and thermal generation facilities.

The company's renewable energy assets span multiple jurisdictions in Canada and the United States, reflecting its strategy to expand clean power capacity in regions with supportive regulatory frameworks.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.