Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Holdings Trimmed by John G Ullman & Associates Inc.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 65.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 147,350 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Power Corp of Canada bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter worth $31,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1,975.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 4,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,950 shares during the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth $88,000. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AQN shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $7.00 to $7.50 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. National Bankshares lowered their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $7.25 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Desjardins raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $4.75 to $5.75 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.78.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

AQN opened at $5.93 on Friday. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a one year low of $4.90 and a one year high of $9.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 197.67 and a beta of 0.66.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $666.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s revenue was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.1085 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.32%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,433.33%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities 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.