Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. $AQN Shares Sold by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 22.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,931,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,344,726 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $48,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. ARS Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 863,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,312,000 after purchasing an additional 197,490 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 42.1% during the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,535,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048,080 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 4,665.2% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 918,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,657,000 after purchasing an additional 899,493 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $2,909,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $74,263,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AQN has been the subject of a number of research reports. National Bank Financial lowered their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.25 to $6.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.81.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $6.09 on Friday. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1-year low of $5.32 and a 1-year high of $7.11. The company has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.71 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.86 and a 200-day moving average of $6.21.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $713.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $713.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is 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.