Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Stake Increased by Starboard Value LP

Starboard Value LP boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,316,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,175,000 shares during the period. Algonquin Power & Utilities accounts for 5.3% of Starboard Value LP's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Starboard Value LP owned 8.51% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $290,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FIL Ltd boosted its position 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 worth $181,473,000 after purchasing an additional 18,857,515 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,510,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $139,845,000 after acquiring an additional 544,198 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $101,202,000 after acquiring an additional 5,640,705 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 21,000,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,090,000 after acquiring an additional 117,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,140,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,217,000 after acquiring an additional 420,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. National Bankshares decreased their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. CIBC decreased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $6.00 target price (up previously from $5.00) on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.03.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,291,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,984,450. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 52 week low of $4.19 and a 52 week high of $6.72. The stock has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.26 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.85.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $692.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently -15.48%.

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.