Swiss National Bank Buys 135,400 Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,433,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 135,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.19% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $7,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Desjardins reduced their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. CIBC reduced their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.18.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:AQN opened at $4.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.76 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $5.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.62. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1 year low of $4.67 and a 1 year high of $6.79. 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 (NYSE:AQN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $573.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.46 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is -20.15%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Profile

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. operates in the power and utility industries in the United States, Canada, and other regions. The company operates in two segments, Regulated Services Group and Renewable Energy Group. The company primarily owns and operates a regulated electric, water distribution and wastewater collection, and natural gas utility systems and transmission operations.