Algonquin Power & Utilities CorpAQN.TOBUY ON WEAKNESSSep 17, 2019Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 05, 2026. Market Open.
Tricky. He bought at $8 and sold at $17 because he didn't like their purchase of Kentucky Electric. Their business is part renewable energy, which is pretty good, and will benefit from strong tailwinds over time, but their assets are average. Their electric utility business brings some stability but little growth. They have major capex to convert utilities from coal. Also, they had debt issues, so they cut their dividend. Their crown jewel--water utility, isn't a huge business, but it's worth a lot and they might sell it. They need to reduce debt and decide whether they want to be about renewables (likely on the chopping block) or electric utility. But the latter has been depressed due to high interest rates in recent years. Take your loss and move on. Doesn't see much upside.
He was a longtime holder until the last CEO left. It was a very well-run business, but they overextended to buy assets in Spain. The structure was complicated. All the independent power producers suffered higher costs for materials as interest rates rose. AQN has new managers who did a strategic review, so AQN appears more stable. Was upgraded today. We may have seen a bottom below $7.
Strategic review right now. Don't get in right now. See how the review goes.
He owns the rate reset, preferred shares. Flat this year, but resetting at over 6%. Difficult, contractually, to cut the preferred dividend. If these shares were redeemed, you could make a significant capital gain.
If you've held on through this year's ups and downs, keep holding. For a new position, look elsewhere. Utility sector has been hard hit, as higher-for-longer interest rate expectations took hold. AQN went down more than most because of its specific issues. Utilities are recovering. It will find its footing.
Following its dividend cut last year, AQN underwent a strategic review and is hoping to sell its renewables division. Activist investors got involved, and the CEO took the fall and exited the company. It now has an interim CEO. The current interest rate curve has not been good to the sector at all, and most are down a lot. Analysts note also that high rates likely mean AQN will get less for any asset sale. Lots of uncertainty here is the likely reason for the decline.
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