First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,898,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 70,774 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.90% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $30,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AQN. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 149.6% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 17,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 10,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 17,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 5,060 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,826,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,561,873. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of -4.18 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $4.19 and a fifty-two week high of $6.79.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.04). 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 $584.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.73 million. On average, analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. CIBC cut their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. National Bankshares dropped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $5.92.

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.