Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. $AQN Shares Acquired by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 178.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,392,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 892,030 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $8,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ARS Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 863,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,312,000 after buying an additional 197,490 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 4,665.2% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 918,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,657,000 after acquiring an additional 899,493 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 42.1% during the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,535,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048,080 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $2,909,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Algonquin Power & Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $74,263,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AQN. Barclays started coverage on Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price target on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.25 to $6.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, National Bank Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $7.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.81.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Price Performance

AQN stock opened at $5.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.05. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 1 year low of $5.32 and a 1 year high of $7.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.22.

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

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.18%.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Profile

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.