Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Shares Bought by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 45.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,959,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,054,711 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned about 1.69% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $70,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AQN. PDT Partners LLC grew its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 158.2% in the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 721,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,934,000 after buying an additional 442,191 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 12.3% during 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. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 11.4% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. National Bank Financial upgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Friday, October 11th. 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 research note on Monday, August 12th. CIBC cut 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 research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.18.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

AQN opened at $4.95 on Friday. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a twelve month low of $4.67 and a twelve month high of $6.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of -3.84 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.02 and its 200-day moving average is $5.58.

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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.25%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently -20.15%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities 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.