Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AQN. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Desjardins raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $4.75 to $5.75 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, National Bankshares cut their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.50 to $7.25 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Algonquin Power & Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.85.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

AQN stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.76. The company had a trading volume of 4,284,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,832,372. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.83 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $6.02 and a 200 day moving average of $5.97. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $4.90 and a fifty-two week high of $9.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 5.64%. The company had revenue of $666.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AQN. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1,975.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 4,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,950 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 76.3% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Power Corp of Canada acquired a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 970.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 6,831 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.