Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Trading 3% Higher Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN – Get Rating) rose 3% on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $7.94 and last traded at $7.90. Approximately 909,742 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 5,228,505 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.67.

The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.03. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 1.45% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The firm had revenue of $748.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $703.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.1085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $0.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.57%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -225.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AQN. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $11.50 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $9.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Desjardins cut shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 13th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $7.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter worth about $81,000. Pictet Asset Management SA lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 247,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,722,000 after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 315,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,442,000 after acquiring an additional 9,031 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 436,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,861,000 after acquiring an additional 11,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $348,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.26% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 2.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.93.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. operates as a diversified utility company. The firm engages in the ownership and operation of a portfolio of regulated and non-regulated generation, distribution and transmission utility assets. It operates through the following segments: Regulated Services Group, and Renewable Energy Group.