Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.07 (NYSE:AQN)

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,Zacks Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.065 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st.

Algonquin Power & Utilities has decreased its dividend by an average of 10.7% per year over the last three years. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a dividend payout ratio of 76.5% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Research analysts expect Algonquin Power & Utilities to earn $0.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 76.5%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

AQN traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $4.82. The stock had a trading volume of 944,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,625,349. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.75. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a twelve month low of $4.67 and a twelve month high of $6.79.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 5.36%. The business had revenue of $573.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AQN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Desjardins lowered their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. CIBC lowered their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James cut shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $7.75 to $7.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.18.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

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.