Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Stock Position Decreased by Investment Management Corp of Ontario

Investment Management Corp of Ontario cut its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,100 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AQN. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 40,886,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $181,473,000 after acquiring an additional 18,857,515 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $31,508,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 22,830,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,202,000 after buying an additional 5,640,705 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 161.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 5,924,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,366,000 after buying an additional 3,656,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,730,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,539,000 after buying an additional 1,719,928 shares in the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. National Bankshares lowered their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $6.00 price target (up previously from $5.00) on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.03.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

AQN opened at $5.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.34 and a beta of 0.67. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1 year low of $4.19 and a 1 year high of $6.75. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.83.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. The firm had revenue of $692.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.64%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently -15.48%.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

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.