Short Interest in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Increases By 36.6%

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,030,000 shares, an increase of 36.6% from the February 28th total of 18,330,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 9,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AQN opened at $5.15 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.99 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.83. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $4.19 and a fifty-two week high of $6.79.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released 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). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $584.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.73 million. On average, analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.05%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.44%.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AQN shares. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.