Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) announced its earnings results on Friday. The utilities provider reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 8.35% and a positive return on equity of 6.13%. The company had revenue of $666.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

AQN stock opened at $6.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.17. The firm has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 213.67 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.66. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 1 year low of $4.90 and a 1 year high of $9.14.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.1085 dividend. This represents a $0.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,433.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AQN. CIBC upped their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. National Bankshares lowered their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $7.25 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $7.00 to $7.50 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.70.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AQN. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 94.6% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 21,685,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,818,000 after purchasing an additional 10,541,240 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,963,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,828,000 after acquiring an additional 670,924 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 317,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,009,000 after acquiring an additional 75,830 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,986,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $164,235,000 after purchasing an additional 268,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 3,157,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,958,000 after purchasing an additional 942,963 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.12% of the company’s stock.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., a renewable energy and utility company, that provides energy and water solutions and services in North America and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Regulated Services Group and Renewable Energy Group. The Regulated Services Group segment provides a portfolio of rate-regulated water, electricity, and gas utility services.