Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,030,000 shares, a growth of 36.6% from the February 28th total of 18,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AQN. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,211,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,095,000 after buying an additional 206,490 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 148.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 424,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,316,000 after acquiring an additional 253,917 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 40.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 147,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 42,801 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 11.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 72,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 12.3% in the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 47,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 5,158 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AQN. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, National Bankshares dropped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.94.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

AQN stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $5.16. 1,211,713 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,824,658. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.96 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.83. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a twelve month low of $4.19 and a twelve month high of $6.79.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.04). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. The company had revenue of $584.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.73 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.44%.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. is an investment holding company, which engages in energy generation and water distribution facilities. It operates through the Regulated Services Group and Renewable Energy Group segments. The Regulated Services Group segment owns and operates a portfolio of electric, natural gas, water distribution, and wastewater collection utility systems and transmission.