Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 128,806 Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 12.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,179,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 128,806 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $7,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the third quarter valued at $54,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 13,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 3,343 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $4.54 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.29. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 52 week low of $4.25 and a 52 week high of $6.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.52 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $573.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.46 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently -20.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AQN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Friday, October 11th. CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.25.

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.