Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Shares Up 9.7% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) shot up 9.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $5.95 and last traded at $5.89. 5,938,170 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 8,266,331 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AQN. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (up from $5.00) on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Monday, May 12th. National Bankshares decreased their target price 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 raised their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.03.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 13.4%

The firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.72 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.89. 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 (NYSE:AQN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $692.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.08 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is -15.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 829,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,522,000 after buying an additional 206,603 shares during the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $106,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 149.6% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 17,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 10,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 161.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 5,924,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,366,000 after buying an additional 3,656,840 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.