Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN – Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $4.79, but opened at $4.61. Algonquin Power & Utilities shares last traded at $4.47, with a volume of 2,055,085 shares traded.
The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.04). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $584.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.73 million.
Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is currently -20.16%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have recently commented on AQN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. National Bankshares cut their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.00.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AQN
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Starboard Value LP lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 65,316,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $290,656,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175,000 shares during the period. FIL Ltd lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 40,886,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $181,473,000 after purchasing an additional 18,857,515 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,510,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $139,845,000 after purchasing an additional 544,198 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $101,202,000 after purchasing an additional 5,640,705 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 21,000,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,090,000 after purchasing an additional 117,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.
Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance
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 stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.71 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $4.58 and its 200 day moving average is $4.87.
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.
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