Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $6.8056.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.25 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, National Bank Financial reduced their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 3rd.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 0.3%

AQN opened at $5.75 on Friday. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $5.32 and a fifty-two week high of $7.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16 and a beta of 0.70.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its 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. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 6.62% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The business had revenue of $713.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AQN. ARS Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 863,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,312,000 after acquiring an additional 197,490 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 42.1% during the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,535,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048,080 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 4,665.2% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 918,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,657,000 after purchasing an additional 899,493 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,456,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,871,000 after purchasing an additional 711,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $74,263,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

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.