Brokerages Set Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Target Price at $6.25

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.25.

AQN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, CIBC lowered their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AQN opened at $4.39 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.37. 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 has a 52 week low of $4.25 and a 52 week high of $6.79. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.40 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -20.16%.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 644,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,264,000 after purchasing an additional 60,946 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 382.0% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 82,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 65,663 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 12.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,179,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,808,000 after buying an additional 128,806 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 829,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,522,000 after acquiring an additional 206,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $792,000. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.