Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Short Interest Down 9.9% in September

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) was the target of a large drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,910,000 shares, a drop of 9.9% from the August 31st total of 15,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 1.3 %

AQN stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.52. The stock had a trading volume of 4,899,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,674,300. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.24 and a beta of 0.67. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a twelve month low of $4.90 and a twelve month high of $6.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.95.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 5.36%. The business had revenue of $598.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently -53.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AQN. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. National Bank Financial raised Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. CIBC cut their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Raymond James cut Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $7.75 to $7.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $8.50 to $6.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 156.0% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 8,905,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,341,000 after acquiring an additional 5,426,523 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 754.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,552,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,292,000 after purchasing an additional 13,731,305 shares in the last quarter. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.3% in the second quarter. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,575,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,090,000 after purchasing an additional 643,352 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,248,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $165,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $318,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company 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.