Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $792,000 in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 145,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $792,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 320.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,273,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,633,000 after buying an additional 5,544,063 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 156.0% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 8,905,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,341,000 after acquiring an additional 5,426,523 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the third quarter worth about $12,361,000. Yaupon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the third quarter valued at approximately $11,997,000. Finally, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 79.8% in the second quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP now owns 4,634,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056,534 shares in the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of AQN opened at $4.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.46 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 52 week low of $4.42 and a 52 week high of $6.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.44.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $573.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.46 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company 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 5.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently -20.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AQN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.25.

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.