Short Interest in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Grows By 21.6%

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,570,000 shares, a growth of 21.6% from the December 31st total of 15,270,000 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on AQN shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.25 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, CIBC cut their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Algonquin Power & Utilities currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.13.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AQN. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 6.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,720,474 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,105,000 after purchasing an additional 447,246 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 116.7% in the 4th quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,621,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,214,000 after buying an additional 873,045 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,173,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $905,000. 62.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AQN traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $4.49. The stock had a trading volume of 8,868,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,442,310. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.48 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's 50 day moving average is $4.51 and its 200-day moving average is $5.03. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a 1 year low of $4.19 and a 1 year high of $6.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $573.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.46 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a negative net margin of 39.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.22%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently -20.15%.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

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.