Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Stock Price Up 5.1%

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) shares shot up 5.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $6.20 and last traded at $6.16. 719,695 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 5,296,295 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AQN. National Bankshares upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.47.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 2.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of -12.59 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.16.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 10th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $737.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $813.38 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 12.44% and a positive return on equity of 5.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.108 dividend. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently -87.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,717,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $152,249,000 after purchasing an additional 413,104 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 754.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,552,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,292,000 after purchasing an additional 13,731,305 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $318,000. 13D Management LLC raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 76.3% during the fourth quarter. 13D Management LLC now owns 845,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,346,000 after purchasing an additional 366,088 shares during the period. Finally, Troluce Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,500,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,480,000 after purchasing an additional 537,325 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company 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.