Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 63.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 289,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,993 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $1,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AQN. Krilogy Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 38.8% in the first quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 705,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,457,000 after buying an additional 197,200 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $115,000. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 71.3% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 63,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 26,369 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 8.2% in the first quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 592,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,744,000 after buying an additional 44,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $169,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AQN. Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.49.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 1.2 %

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $6.07. The company had a trading volume of 2,176,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,344,970. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1 year low of $4.90 and a 1 year high of $8.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.15.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $737.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $813.38 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 12.44% and a positive return on equity of 5.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.108 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.12%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently -87.76%.

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.