Guardian Partners Inc. Takes $653,000 Position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 146,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $653,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 50,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 13,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 3,343 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 935,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,141,000 after purchasing an additional 3,656 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 505,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 42,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 6,602 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities stock opened at $5.13 on Monday. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a twelve month low of $4.19 and a twelve month high of $6.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.97 and a beta of 0.71. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.83.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued 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). Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. The company had revenue of $584.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.73 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.07%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s payout ratio is -14.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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