Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. $AQN Stake Lessened by RWC Asset Management LLP

Key Points

• RWC Asset Management reduced its Algonquin Power & Utilities stake by 24.8% in the third quarter, selling 574,837 shares and retaining 1.74 million shares valued at approximately $8.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 62.28% of AQN.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: seven analysts rate AQN a Buy, five rate it Hold, and one rates it Sell. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $6.66 versus the reported share price of $5.41.
• AQN recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.26 dividend and a 4.8% yield. Its latest quarterly EPS of $0.04 missed the $0.05 consensus estimate, while the company maintained fiscal-year earnings guidance.

RWC Asset Management LLP trimmed its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 24.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,742,882 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 574,837 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP owned approximately 0.23% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $8,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 9.4% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 22,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 13.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. Focused Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 4.7% during the third quarter. Focused Alpha LLC now owns 50,535 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 9.9% during the first quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 29,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,052 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,729 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AQN shares. TD set a $6.00 target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Huntington started coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. National Bank Financial set a $7.00 price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.66.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AQN traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $5.41. 3,733,366 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,029,168. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45 and a beta of 0.72. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1 year low of $4.91 and a 1 year high of $7.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 5.16%. The company had revenue of $582.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $582.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.04 earnings per share. Algonquin Power & Utilities has set its FY 2027 guidance at 0.380-0.420 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.370 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 29th were given a $0.0650 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 29th. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 136.84%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Profile

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. is a Canadian utility company that owns and operates regulated electric, natural gas and water distribution businesses. Through its Liberty operating brands, the company provides essential utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in communities across the United States and Canada.

The company's regulated utility operations include electricity distribution and generation, natural gas distribution, and water and wastewater services.

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