Algonquin Power & Utilities Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:AQN)

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 6,111 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 5,833% compared to the average volume of 103 call options.

Institutional Trading of Algonquin Power & Utilities

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AQN. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 8.6% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 61,652,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $331,292,000 after purchasing an additional 4,888,235 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Algonquin Power & Utilities by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,744,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $181,377,000 after buying an additional 1,086,040 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 16,830,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $90,441,000 after buying an additional 1,863,459 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities by 88.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 13,112,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $75,137,000 after acquiring an additional 6,160,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $62,738,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808,539 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AQN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Natl Bk Canada raised shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. National Bankshares set a $7.50 target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Algonquin Power & Utilities from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.70.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Trading Down 0.7%

Algonquin Power & Utilities stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $6.40. The stock had a trading volume of 457,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,918,259. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.88. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -159.59 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Algonquin Power & Utilities has a twelve month low of $4.26 and a twelve month high of $6.62.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE:AQN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $600.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $596.67 million. Algonquin Power & Utilities had a positive return on equity of 5.14% and a negative net margin of 1.11%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Algonquin Power & Utilities will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Algonquin Power & Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently -650.00%.

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.