Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Boosts Stock Position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 85.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,730,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,719,928 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $16,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AQN. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 50,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 3,096 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 935,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,141,000 after acquiring an additional 3,656 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 42,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 6,602 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 11.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 72,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 7,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 221,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 8,620 shares in the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

NYSE AQN opened at $4.85 on Friday. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12-month low of $4.19 and a 12-month high of $6.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $584.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.73 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. Analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is -14.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AQN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.94.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company Profile

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. is an investment holding company, which engages in energy generation and water distribution facilities. It operates through the Regulated Services Group and Renewable Energy Group segments. The Regulated Services Group segment owns and operates a portfolio of electric, natural gas, water distribution, and wastewater collection utility systems and transmission.