Creative Planning Reduces Holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Creative Planning reduced its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 32.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 30,089 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 156.0% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 8,905,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,341,000 after acquiring an additional 5,426,523 shares during the period. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.3% in the second quarter. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,575,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,090,000 after buying an additional 643,352 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,248,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $165,893,000 after buying an additional 262,333 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the second quarter worth about $3,164,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 151.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 16,800 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AQN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Desjardins decreased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Raymond James lowered shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $7.75 to $7.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 price target for the company. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.18.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AQN opened at $4.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1-year low of $4.67 and a 1-year high of $6.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.00 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.74.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.08. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 5.36%. The firm had revenue of $573.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is 162.50%.

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.