Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.11 (NYSE:AQN)

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 17th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.1085 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, April 14th. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th.

Algonquin Power & Utilities has increased its dividend payment by an average of 9.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 11 consecutive years. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a dividend payout ratio of 116.1% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Algonquin Power & Utilities to earn $0.64 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 112.5%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE AQN traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $7.79. 4,849,401 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,378,625. The company has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of -24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.49. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a one year low of $6.41 and a one year high of $16.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 17th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $748.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $703.54 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 1.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,390,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,963,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 20,142.2% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,545,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533,280 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 149.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,929,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,400 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,605,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603,776 shares during the period. 41.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AQN shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 21st. TD Securities lifted their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $11.00 to $10.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Desjardins lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $11.50 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.86.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

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Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. operates as a diversified utility company. The firm engages in the ownership and operation of a portfolio of regulated and non-regulated generation, distribution and transmission utility assets. It operates through the following segments: Regulated Services Group, and Renewable Energy Group.