Natural Investments LLC Makes New $106,000 Investment in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Natural Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 23,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $106,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,034,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 8.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 931,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,092,000 after acquiring an additional 73,587 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 10.4% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,433,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,843,000 after purchasing an additional 135,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 14.5% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 163,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 20,731 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of AQN opened at $4.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1-year low of $4.19 and a 1-year high of $6.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.74 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $4.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.85.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $584.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.73 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. Analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AQN. National Bankshares lowered their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.94.

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.