Invesco Ltd. Raises Holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. $AQN

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. by 15.1%, bringing its total holdings to approximately 3.48 million shares worth around $17.88 million.
• Several brokerages upgraded their ratings for Algonquin Power & Utilities, with price targets ranging from $6.00 to $6.50, and a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 4.5%, with the payout date set for October 15th.

Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,479,301 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 455,471 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.45% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $17,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AQN. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 22,830,789 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $101,202,000 after buying an additional 5,640,705 shares during the period. Packer & Co Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 1st quarter worth $23,197,000. Starboard Value LP lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 65,316,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $290,656,000 after buying an additional 3,175,000 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 2,961.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,718,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,096,000 after buying an additional 2,629,500 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 7,910,535 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,066,000 after buying an additional 2,267,343 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:AQN traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.82. 4,280,962 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,673,379. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.84 and a 200 day moving average of $5.45. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a twelve month low of $4.19 and a twelve month high of $6.24. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.23 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 quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04. The business had revenue of $535.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $535.64 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 57.66%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 29th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently -14.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AQN. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Desjardins upped their price objective on 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, Wall Street Zen cut Algonquin Power & Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.31.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

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.