PFG Investments LLC Boosts Holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

PFG Investments LLC grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 71.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,369 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,986,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $164,235,000 after purchasing an additional 268,800 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 754.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,552,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,292,000 after purchasing an additional 13,731,305 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 13,293,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,699,000 after purchasing an additional 978,758 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 10,226,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,521,000 after purchasing an additional 542,696 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,881,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,496,000 after purchasing an additional 616,049 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE:AQN traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.11. 3,736,427 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,746,624. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.00. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $4.90 and a fifty-two week high of $9.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 203.50 and a beta of 0.66.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 5.64%. The firm had revenue of $666.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.73 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.1085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.11%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,433.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AQN. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $4.75 to $5.75 in a report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.67.

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.