Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys Shares of 658,064 Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 658,064 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,586,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.09% of Algonquin Power & Utilities as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted 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 valued at $52,341,000 after purchasing an additional 5,426,523 shares during the period. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 33.3% in the second quarter. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,575,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,090,000 after buying an additional 643,352 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,248,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $165,893,000 after buying an additional 262,333 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $318,000. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,164,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company's stock.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, reaching $5.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,482,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,647,921. The business's fifty day moving average price is $5.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.54 and a beta of 0.66. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a twelve month low of $4.90 and a twelve month high of $6.79.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. CIBC lowered their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.75 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $5.75 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James lowered Algonquin Power & Utilities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $7.75 to $7.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Desjardins cut their target price on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.25.

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.