Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) had its price target lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $6.00 to $6.50 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.90% from the company’s previous close.

AQN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. National Bankshares cut 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (up from $5.00) on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.14.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of AQN stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $6.02. 3,001,710 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,412,498. 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 fifty-two week low of $4.19 and a fifty-two week high of $6.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.90. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.66 and a beta of 0.67.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $692.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.08 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,073 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,256 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 50,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 3,096 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 935,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,141,000 after purchasing an additional 3,656 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 17,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.