By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN – Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,570,000 shares, a growth of 21.6% from the December 15th total of 15,270,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.
Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:AQN traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $4.41. 6,926,263 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,684,451. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of -3.41 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.17. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 12-month low of $4.19 and a 12-month high of $6.79.
Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. The firm had revenue of $573.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.
Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.90%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -20.15%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 320.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,273,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,633,000 after purchasing an additional 5,544,063 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 156.0% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 8,905,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,341,000 after buying an additional 5,426,523 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the third quarter worth $12,361,000. Yaupon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter worth $11,997,000. Finally, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 79.8% in the second quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP now owns 4,634,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056,534 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, CIBC lowered their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.13.
View Our Latest Stock Report on AQN
Algonquin Power & Utilities Company Profile
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.
See Also
Receive News & Ratings for Algonquin Power & Utilities Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Algonquin Power & Utilities and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.