Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC Purchases 349,400 Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. $AQN

Key Points

• Euro Pacific Asset Management nearly doubled its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter, buying 349,400 additional shares to bring its total to 703,450 shares worth about $4.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains strong, with 62.28% of AQN shares held by institutions, and several other funds also adding to or starting positions during the quarter.
• Analysts are mixed but generally positive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $6.81, while AQN recently reported earnings of $0.13 per share, beating estimates.

Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 98.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 703,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 349,400 shares during the quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC owned 0.09% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $4,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AQN. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 22,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 13.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. IMC Chicago LLC bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the first quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 13.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,633,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $83,497,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the first quarter worth approximately $77,000. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. 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 target for the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.25 to $6.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, National Bank Financial reduced their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.25 to $7.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.81.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:AQN opened at $5.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52 and a beta of 0.71. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $5.32 and a fifty-two week high of $7.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.22.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 6.62% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The company had revenue of $713.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.18%.

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.

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