Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Shares Purchased by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. by 1.5% in Q1, owning 9,761,735 shares valued at $50.14 million.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.14, exceeding expectations, despite a negative net margin of 48.78% and a revenue slightly below analyst forecasts at $692.4 million.
• Algonquin Power & Utilities has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 4.4%.

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,761,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 139,907 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 1.27% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $50,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.7% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,887 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,256 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the first quarter valued at approximately $59,000. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 111,700.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 12,287 shares in the last quarter. Oakwell Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 59.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AQN shares. 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. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Desjardins lifted their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $4.75 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.31.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of AQN stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $5.94. The company had a trading volume of 2,355,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,708,643. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a one year low of $4.19 and a one year high of $6.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $5.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.31.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last released 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 business 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 4.74% and a negative net margin of 48.78%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -16.77%.

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.