Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. $AQN

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,633,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,563,924 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $83,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AQN. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter worth about $77,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 155,868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,000 after acquiring an additional 22,135 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 99,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 12,355 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,535,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048,080 shares during the period. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $465,000. Institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE AQN opened at $5.87 on Friday. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12 month low of $5.32 and a 12 month high of $7.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $5.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66 and a beta of 0.71.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $713.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.69 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a return on equity of 5.21% and a net margin of 6.62%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AQN shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $7.00 price objective for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. National Bank Financial reduced their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.25 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.81.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Profile

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (NYSE: AQN) is a diversified generation, transmission and distribution utility company headquartered in Oakville, Ontario. Established in 1988, the firm operates through two primary business segments: Regulated Utilities and Renewable Energy. Its Regulated Utilities segment comprises electric, natural gas and water distribution networks serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across North America, while its Renewable Energy portfolio includes hydroelectric, solar, wind and thermal generation facilities.

The company’s renewable energy assets span multiple jurisdictions in Canada and the United States, reflecting its strategy to expand clean power capacity in regions with supportive regulatory frameworks.