Short Interest in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Grows By 36.6%

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) was the recipient of a significant 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. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 9,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 0.1 %

AQN traded up $0.01 on Tuesday, hitting $5.15. The company had a trading volume of 9,125,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,871,130. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.99 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.83. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 12-month low of $4.19 and a 12-month high of $6.79.

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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.05%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is -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.