222,429 Shares in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 222,429 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $990,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AQN. Greenland Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 193.9% in the 4th quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP now owns 1,273,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,649,000 after acquiring an additional 839,950 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 592.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,312,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,840,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122,992 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.6% in the 4th 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. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,023,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,456,000 after buying an additional 64,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.6% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 62.28% of the company's stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,461,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,629,780. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $5.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12-month low of $4.19 and a 12-month high of $6.77. The company has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.23 and a beta of 0.67.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $584.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.73 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. National Bankshares cut their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.