Scotia Capital Inc. Reduces Position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. by 7.6% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 1,780,044 shares worth about $9.13 million.
• Algonquin Power & Utilities recently reported $0.14 earnings per share, exceeding estimates of $0.09, despite a negative net margin of 48.78%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.4%, with a payout ratio of -16.77%.

Scotia Capital Inc. cut its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,780,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 147,063 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. owned about 0.23% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $9,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AQN. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 40,886,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $181,473,000 after buying an additional 18,857,515 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at $31,508,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 32.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 5,640,705 shares during the last quarter. Packer & Co Ltd purchased a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter valued at $23,197,000. Finally, Starboard Value LP boosted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 65,316,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $290,656,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175,000 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $5.91 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.29. The company has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.81 and a beta of 0.68. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $4.19 and a fifty-two week high of $6.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 48.78% and a positive return on equity of 4.74%. The business had revenue of $692.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. National Bankshares lowered shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $6.75 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Desjardins upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $4.75 to $6.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.

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