Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Grows Position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,551,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 209,991 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.20% of Algonquin Power & Utilities worth $9,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 76.3% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the first quarter worth $76,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the first quarter worth $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Desjardins decreased their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut Algonquin Power & Utilities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $8.50 to $6.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $5.75 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. CIBC dropped their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.33.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AQN traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.25. 4,629,809 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,657,704. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock's 50-day moving average is $5.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.93. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12 month low of $4.90 and a 12 month high of $6.79. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $598.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.95 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a return on equity of 5.36% and a net margin of 4.70%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.08 EPS. Research 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.95%. Algonquin Power & Utilities's payout ratio is -53.06%.

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.