Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Price Target Cut to $5.25

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) had its price objective lowered by Desjardins from $5.50 to $5.25 in a research note published on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. Desjardins currently has a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Desjardins also issued estimates for Algonquin Power & Utilities’ Q3 2024 earnings at $0.07 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $0.41 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $0.30 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $0.37 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. National Bankshares upped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Raymond James cut Algonquin Power & Utilities from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $7.75 to $7.00 in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $6.36.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of AQN stock opened at $5.20 on Monday. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $4.90 and a fifty-two week high of $7.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.61 and a beta of 0.66.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $598.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.95 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 12.44% and a positive return on equity of 5.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -53.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AQN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,248,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $165,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,333 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 754.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,552,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,292,000 after buying an additional 13,731,305 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 10,565,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,759,000 after acquiring an additional 342,528 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 10,226,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,521,000 after acquiring an additional 542,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 156.0% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 8,905,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,341,000 after acquiring an additional 5,426,523 shares in the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. operates in the power and utility industries in the United States, Canada, and other regions. The company operates in two segments, Regulated Services Group and Renewable Energy Group. The company primarily owns and operates a regulated electric, water distribution and wastewater collection, and natural gas utility systems and transmission operations.