Rock Point Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Rock Point Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 811,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,875 shares during the quarter. Rock Point Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $4,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,248,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $165,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,333 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 139,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 6,642 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the first quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 851.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,765,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,797,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 47.1% in the first quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 49,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 15,725 shares in the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. National Bank Financial upgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Desjardins dropped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, CIBC dropped their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.18.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $4.79. The company had a trading volume of 173,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,583,322. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12-month low of $4.67 and a 12-month high of $6.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.62. 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 market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.76 and a beta of 0.68.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $573.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.46 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently -20.15%.

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.