First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Sells 3,906 Shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) by 18.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,906 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities were worth $95,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 151.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Algonquin Power & Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 113.9% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 380,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,403,000 after acquiring an additional 202,489 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities during the first quarter worth $4,887,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,248,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $165,893,000 after purchasing an additional 262,333 shares during the last quarter. 62.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:AQN opened at $4.79 on Thursday. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has a 12 month low of $4.67 and a 12 month high of $6.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last released 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. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a return on equity of 5.36% and a net margin of 4.70%. The firm had revenue of $598.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 162.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. CIBC lowered their target price on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $5.75 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.50 to $5.75 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. National Bank Financial raised Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $7.75 to $7.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.23.

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.