Swiss National Bank Increases Stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,441,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.19% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $6,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the third quarter worth $58,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 13,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 3,343 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:AQN opened at $5.13 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $4.19 and a fifty-two week high of $6.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.97 and a beta of 0.71.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $584.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.73 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AQN. National Bankshares dropped their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Scotiabank upped 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 research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.94.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

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.