Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Given Sector Perform Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $6.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on AQN. Desjardins dropped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and cut their target price for the company from $8.50 to $6.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $5.75 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a neutral rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $6.30.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:AQN opened at $5.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.33 and a beta of 0.66. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a twelve month low of $4.90 and a twelve month high of $6.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.89.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $598.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.95 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 5.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.08 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.14%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -53.06%.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,248,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $165,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,333 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 754.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,552,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,292,000 after acquiring an additional 13,731,305 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 10,565,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,759,000 after acquiring an additional 342,528 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 156.0% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 8,905,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,341,000 after acquiring an additional 5,426,523 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 320.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,273,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,633,000 after acquiring an additional 5,544,063 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

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.