ARS Investment Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. $AQN

Key Points

• ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 29.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 863,660 shares valued at about $5.31 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other investors holding 62.28% of the stock; several firms, including Goldman Sachs and Marshall Wace, also boosted their positions.
• Algonquin Power & Utilities reported quarterly EPS of $0.13, slightly ahead of estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share, implying a 4.5% annual yield.

ARS Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 863,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 197,490 shares during the quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.11% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $5,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AQN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 65.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,205,756 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,738,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808,539 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the second quarter valued at $85,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 8.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 240,683 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 18,752 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 15.9% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 120,708 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 16,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 465.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 106,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 87,276 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.77.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AQN opened at $5.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16 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 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $6.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.26. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12 month low of $5.32 and a 12 month high of $7.11.

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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 118.18%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Profile

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.

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