Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,303,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,373 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.30% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $10,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,882,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,236 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.1% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 17,190,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,918,000 after purchasing an additional 832,739 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in 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. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.1% during the third 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, Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 161.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 5,924,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,366,000 after purchasing an additional 3,656,840 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AQN. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of 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 cut their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.94.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of AQN opened at $5.13 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.97 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $4.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.84. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1 year low of $4.19 and a 1 year high of $6.79.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations 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, sell-side analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.07%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is currently -14.44%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities 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.