Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $4.90 and last traded at $4.91, with a volume of 4298067 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $5.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AQN. Desjardins reduced their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.50 to $5.25 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. National Bank Financial raised Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $7.75 to $7.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank decreased their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.23.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of -10.28 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $5.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.84.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a return on equity of 5.36% and a net margin of 4.70%. The company had revenue of $598.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.95 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently -53.06%.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $165,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,333 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 3.4% in 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 buying an additional 342,528 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted 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 buying an additional 5,426,523 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 320.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,273,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,633,000 after acquiring an additional 5,544,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 31.2% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,956,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415,889 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Company Profile

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.