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

Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 129,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,195,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Avangrid by 179.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 157,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,120,000 after buying an additional 101,543 shares during the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Avangrid by 0.9% in the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 81,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,447,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in Avangrid by 10.7% in the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 411,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,415,000 after purchasing an additional 39,937 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Avangrid by 1.4% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 225,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,818,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in Avangrid by 38.0% in the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 121,668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,671,000 after purchasing an additional 33,528 shares during the last quarter. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on AGR shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Avangrid from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Avangrid from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com raised Avangrid from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Avangrid in a research report on Friday, March 8th. 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, Avangrid has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.75.

Avangrid Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE AGR opened at $36.55 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Avangrid, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.46 and a 52 week high of $41.22. The company has a market capitalization of $14.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.56.

Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. Avangrid had a return on equity of 4.37% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Avangrid, Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Avangrid Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Avangrid’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.