International Assets Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $710,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AQN. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,881,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,496,000 after acquiring an additional 616,049 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,717,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $152,249,000 after buying an additional 413,104 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter valued at $1,408,000. Krilogy Financial LLC acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter valued at $3,007,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter valued at $200,000. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AQN opened at $6.19 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $6.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 206.17 and a beta of 0.66. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1-year low of $4.90 and a 1-year high of $9.14.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $666.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.73 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 5.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. Equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.1085 per share. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 1,433.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AQN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. CIBC boosted their target price 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. Desjardins upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $4.75 to $5.75 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.67.

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.