222,429 Shares in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 222,429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $990,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 149.6% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 17,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 10,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $88,000. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 5.0 %

AQN stock opened at $4.85 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.76 and a beta of 0.64. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a twelve month low of $4.19 and a twelve month high of $6.79.

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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AQN shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank upped 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. National Bankshares reduced their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.94.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company Profile

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.