Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,910,000 shares, a drop of 9.9% from the August 31st total of 15,440,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 1.1 %

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.51. The stock had a trading volume of 4,667,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,673,072. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.24 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a one year low of $4.90 and a one year high of $6.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.95.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $598.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.95 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 5.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently -53.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings 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 valued at $52,341,000 after buying an additional 5,426,523 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 754.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,552,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,292,000 after purchasing an additional 13,731,305 shares during the period. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,575,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,090,000 after acquiring an additional 643,352 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,248,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $165,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $318,000. Institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AQN shares. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $5.75 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Desjardins lowered their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.33.

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.