Short Interest in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Increases By 10.7%

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,270,000 shares, a growth of 10.7% from the November 30th total of 13,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on AQN shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 note on Friday, October 11th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, CIBC cut their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.25.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AQN. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the third quarter worth $54,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AQN traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.45. The company had a trading volume of 6,097,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,568,631. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a one year low of $4.25 and a one year high of $6.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.45 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.30.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). The company 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is currently -20.16%.

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.