BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Purchases 88,439 Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. $AQN

Key Points

• British Columbia Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp by 0.7%, now owning approximately 1.71% of the company, valued at $67.49 million.
• Algonquin Power & Utilities is expected to report an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.38 for the current year, with its last quarterly EPS hitting $0.04, in line with consensus estimates.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.5%, with the payout ratio currently at -14.44%.

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,139,562 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 88,439 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 1.71% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $67,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Starboard Value LP raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 65,316,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $290,656,000 after buying an additional 3,175,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,715,401 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $162,859,000 after buying an additional 204,473 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 22,830,789 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $101,202,000 after buying an additional 5,640,705 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.5% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,761,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,137,000 after buying an additional 139,907 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,140,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,217,000 after buying an additional 420,202 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AQN. National Bankshares lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $6.75 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. TD Securities raised Algonquin Power & Utilities to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Algonquin Power & Utilities to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.31.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AQN traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $5.80. 2,034,075 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,251,247. The company's fifty day moving average is $5.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.45. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $4.19 and a fifty-two week high of $6.24. The stock has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of -3.22 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.04. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 57.66%.The firm had revenue of $535.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $535.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently -14.44%.

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.