Wells Fargo & Company Trims Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Target Price to $5.50

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $6.00 to $5.50 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. CIBC dropped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.75 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Friday, October 11th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $5.75 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Desjardins cut 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 research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.25.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:AQN traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.17. 5,482,340 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,647,921. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $5.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.53 and a beta of 0.66. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $4.90 and a fifty-two week high of $6.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 5.36%. The company had revenue of $598.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $635.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.08 earnings per share. Algonquin Power & Utilities's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.43 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -53.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings 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 worth $42,633,000 after buying an additional 5,544,063 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings 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 worth $52,341,000 after purchasing an additional 5,426,523 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 851.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,765,026 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,797,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,124 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 79.8% during the second quarter. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP now owns 4,634,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the first quarter valued at about $9,924,000. Institutional investors own 62.28% of the company's stock.

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.