Brokerages Set Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Price Target at $6.83

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.8333.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AQN. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $6.50 to $7.25 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Desjardins dropped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.25 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $7.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AQN. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 81,727,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $502,563,000 after purchasing an additional 20,074,709 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,456,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,871,000 after purchasing an additional 711,569 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,717,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,395,000 after purchasing an additional 3,886,254 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,633,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,497,000 after buying an additional 1,563,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,205,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,738,000 after buying an additional 4,808,539 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE AQN opened at $5.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 1-year low of $5.32 and a 1-year high of $7.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.16 and a beta of 0.71.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 6.62%.The firm had revenue of $713.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.18%.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (NYSE: AQN) is a diversified generation, transmission and distribution utility company headquartered in Oakville, Ontario. Established in 1988, the firm operates through two primary business segments: Regulated Utilities and Renewable Energy. Its Regulated Utilities segment comprises electric, natural gas and water distribution networks serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across North America, while its Renewable Energy portfolio includes hydroelectric, solar, wind and thermal generation facilities.

The company’s renewable energy assets span multiple jurisdictions in Canada and the United States, reflecting its strategy to expand clean power capacity in regions with supportive regulatory frameworks.