Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Natl Bk Canada

Natl Bk Canada upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AQN. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Desjardins boosted their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.25 to $6.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $6.50 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.70.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:AQN opened at $6.41 on Tuesday. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $4.19 and a fifty-two week high of $6.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -160.23 and a beta of 0.75.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.03. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.14% and a negative net margin of 1.11%.The company had revenue of $600.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $596.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is presently -650.00%.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 65.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,205,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,738,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808,539 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 47,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 10,020 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 23,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 2,242 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 59.9% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,066,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,834,000 after acquiring an additional 774,061 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 46.1% in the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 166,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,000 after acquiring an additional 52,400 shares in the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company Profile

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.