HighTower Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 27.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 263,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 100,282 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $1,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AQN. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,882,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,175,000 after buying an additional 1,190,236 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 45.5% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 12,959,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,806,000 after purchasing an additional 4,054,711 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 10,565,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,759,000 after purchasing an additional 342,528 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,720,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,105,000 after purchasing an additional 447,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 31.2% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,956,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,889 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE AQN opened at $4.47 on Monday. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 52 week low of $4.42 and a 52 week high of $6.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.47 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.43.

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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors 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 yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is currently -20.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AQN. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.25.

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.