Norges Bank Purchases New Position in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. $AQN

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 10,906,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $67,065,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AQN. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $74,263,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 61,652,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $331,292,000 after acquiring an additional 4,888,235 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,205,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,738,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808,539 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 14,166.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 4,445,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,870,000 after acquiring an additional 4,476,726 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 138.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,326,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,875,000 after acquiring an additional 1,933,507 shares during the period. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AQN opened at $6.00 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 0.71. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a one year low of $5.32 and a one year high of $7.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 6.62% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The firm had revenue of $713.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AQN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.25 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Desjardins decreased their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.25 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.83.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (NYSE: AQN) is a diversified generation, transmission and distribution utility company headquartered in Oakville, Ontario. Established in 1988, the firm operates through two primary business segments: Regulated Utilities and Renewable Energy. Its Regulated Utilities segment comprises electric, natural gas and water distribution networks serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across North America, while its Renewable Energy portfolio includes hydroelectric, solar, wind and thermal generation facilities.

The company’s renewable energy assets span multiple jurisdictions in Canada and the United States, reflecting its strategy to expand clean power capacity in regions with supportive regulatory frameworks.