Short Interest in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Increases By 14.5%

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,380,000 shares, an increase of 14.5% from the October 15th total of 16,920,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 6,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on AQN shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Friday, October 11th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $7.75 to $7.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.18.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:AQN traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $4.80. The company had a trading volume of 363,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,606,910. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of -3.74 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.69. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 52 week low of $4.67 and a 52 week high of $6.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $573.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -20.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 2nd quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

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.