Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Short Interest Update

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,030,000 shares, a growth of 36.6% from the February 28th total of 18,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AQN shares. National Bankshares decreased their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.75 to $6.25 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $5.94.

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Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

AQN stock traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4.85. 9,225,240 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,930,416. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.76 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.83. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a one year low of $4.19 and a one year high of $6.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $584.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.73 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 39.12%. Equities research analysts forecast that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.37%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio is -14.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AQN. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company's stock.

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.