ALGONQUIN POWER & UTILITIES CORP. $6.55 (Toronto symbol AQN; Shares outstanding: 159.1 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.algonquinpower.com) holds interests in 45 hydroelectric plants in Canada and the northeastern U.S. It also owns 12 thermal energy facilities. Algonquin’s wholly owned subsidiary, Liberty Water Co., owns 19 water-distribution and sewagetreatment plants in the U.S.
The company also has a partnership with Emera Inc. (Toronto symbol EMA), which is a recommendation of The Successful Investor, our conservative growth advisory. Emera holds a 25% interest in Algonquin. This partnership, called Liberty Energy Utilities, continues to make acquisitions.
Liberty Energy’s purchases include NV Energy, which sells power to 47,000 customers near Lake Tahoe; Atmos Energy, which distributes natural gas to 77,000 customers in Missouri, Iowa and Illinois; and two other utilities that sell electricity and natural gas to 126,000 customers in New Hampshire.
In the three months ended March 31, 2012, Algonquin earned $0.02 a share, down from $0.05 a share a year earlier. Cash flow per share fell 47.6%, to $0.11 from $0.21. However, the declines were mostly due to exceptionally warm weather, which reduced electricity consumption and prices.
Algonquin trades at just 8.7 times its forecast 2012 cash flow of $0.75 a share. It yields 4.3%.
Algonquin Power & Utilities is still a buy.