Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires New Shares in Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 129,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,195,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AGR. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Avangrid by 60.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Avangrid by 16.0% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Avangrid by 41.7% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Avangrid by 37.1% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Avangrid by 3.1% in the third quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 16,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Avangrid from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott restated a "sell" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Avangrid in a research report on Friday, March 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Avangrid from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Avangrid from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.75.

Avangrid Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE AGR traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $36.39. 571,104 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 918,103. The business's 50 day moving average is $34.80 and its 200-day moving average is $32.61. Avangrid, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.46 and a 12-month high of $41.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Avangrid (NYSE:AGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.18. Avangrid had a return on equity of 4.37% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Avangrid, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avangrid Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. Avangrid's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.19%.

Avangrid Company Profile

Avangrid, Inc, an energy services holding company, engages in the regulated energy transmission and distribution, and renewable energy generation businesses in the United States. The company operates through Networks and Renewables segments. It is involved in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity; and distribution, transportation, and sale of natural gas.